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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25199038">Glitch</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yemi_Hikari/pseuds/Yemi%20Hikari'>Yemi Hikari (Yemi_Hikari)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Four Shiba Siblings [13]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bleach</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Bambietta &amp; Toushirou - Twins, Empath, Empath Kaien, Empath Karin, Eventual Shiba Kaien/Unagiya, F/M, Family, Former Taicho Isshin, Former Tenth Division Isshin, Four Shiba Siblings, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Isshin &amp; Kaien - Twins, Kaien &amp; Toushirou - Father/Son (Adoptive/Foster), Kaien Lives, Rangiku &amp; Toushirou - Mother/Son (Biological), Rebirth, Reincarnation, Reincarnation of sorts, Senna Lives, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Suspense, Tragedy, Unagiya Ikumi is reincarnated Shiba Miyako</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2014-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:42:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>43,387</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25199038</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yemi_Hikari/pseuds/Yemi%20Hikari</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Gone is gone... until a glitch kicks in.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bambietta Basterbine &amp; Hitsugaya Toushirou, Hitsugaya Toushirou &amp; Shiba Kaien, Hitsugaya Toushirou/Kurosaki Karin, Kuchiki Rukia/Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Isshin &amp; Shiba Kaien, Shiba Kaien/Unagiya Ikumi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Four Shiba Siblings [13]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1848988</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>A Whisper to the  Dark Side, Bleach: Four Shiba, Bleach: Ikumi is Miyako's Reincarnation, Bleach: Quincy &amp; Shingami - Factions of Soul Society, Bleach: Tenth Division Captain Isshin, Bleach: Toushirou's Parents Are..., Bleach: Toushirou's Twin is..., Platonic Relationships, Siblings</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prolog</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer – I don't own Bleach. (Diverges from canon plot after chapter 591)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rain to the Kurosaki family represented pain, so Isshin refused to look up at the window pain that was dripping wet. The child patient he was taking care of couldn't help but see the rain and pointed a finger at the window. "Play?"</p><p>The doctor looked up at the window, frowning as he did so. Masaki had died on a day when it rained, but that wasn't the real reason he hated the rain. The element of water represented his brother Kaien and he found himself thinking specifically of his brother when it rained. The girls reminded him of Masaki, Ichigo reminded him of Kaien. There were plenty of happy memories with Masaki and no bad ones, but with Kaien there were bad ones to go with the good.</p><p>Shaking his head to get rid of the depressing thoughts he finished up his duties in the clinic and locked up. It was still raining and he headed to where dinner was being made by Yuzu. The little girl looked up at him. "Daddy?'</p><p>"What is it sweet heart?"</p><p>"I forgot something that I need to finish dinner. Could you please go and get it for me?"</p><p>The man took a deep breath before heading out, grabbing his umbrella. His zampaktuo spirit... which had woken up when the seal on Ichigo ended up broken, couldn't help but gab. "<em>You know Kaien isn't dead, right?</em>"</p><p>"<em>You know as well as I that he is. He is...</em>" Isshin paused. "<em>I can't very well deny what news I've gotten from Soul Society. I'm glad Rukia's not made a connection, or she would be apologizing to me just like I heard she did to Kukaku.</em>"</p><p>"C<em>ome on fool... you're denying something that is true. For some reason you know your twin brother is alive,, just like each of you could sense each others element just as you could sense your own. He's alive.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Rukia apparently killed him during the Winter War. He's finally at peace.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Yes... that's what you want to believe.</em>"</p><p>Isshin took a deep breath, continuing to walk. He stopped short, some strange feeling coming over him. The war had ended and his son was out cold in his upstairs room, explaining why Yuzu forgot to go to the store to get something. Something though was nagging him as he looked down the dark alley way. He made to turn away, only to find himself stopping short, a sudden familiar feeling overwhelming him.</p><p>He slunk into the alley way, feeling the spiritual pressure as he did so. He stopped short as lighting suddenly flashed, dropping his umbrella as he saw that persons face. His heart skipped a beat, almost as if he hadn't been expecting to eve r see that person again. "<em>No... I wasn't.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Yes you were. You were just in serious denial.</em>"</p><p>Isshin's hand reached down into his pants pocket and before he even had it to his ear he was dialing a number. He stopped short when he heard a groan and the lighting flashed. This time the person was looking at him his eyes focused on his face. "Isshin..." Isshin of course couldn't speak. "... so you're alive like I thought."</p><p>"And you're alive like I thought."</p><p>"Exactly what is that supposed to mean?"</p><p>"What is the last thing you remember?" Isshin decided it was best to finish dialing the number. "Urahara. I have a problem."</p><p>Lighting flashed again and he saw the look of irritation on the other persons face. "I'm a problem?"</p><p>"No." Isshin sighed. "Your problem is my problem."</p><p>"<em>Isshin... who are you talking too.</em>"</p><p>"Someone who is supposed to be dead, but I never could believe that he was." Isshin paused. "Kind of like how he could never believe I was dead.'</p><p>"<em>Well... that is a dilemma. Tell me what the two of you need. I'll arrange it.</em>" Isshin told the man what he needed while he continued to look at the man. When he asked why this happened Urahara's words were simply that it was a glitch in the system.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Funeral</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Two pale eyes looked over the room adorned with black curtains. Two feminine arms crossed against an ample chest as the woman they belonged to. The woman swallowed, trying to hold back the feeling she felt as she looked over the room. Everything was still raw and the smallest thing seemed to twist the pain in. Rangiku could control her emotions, but she knew after <em>the</em> event she would be bawling her head off to Nanao as well as drinking a lot of sake. She couldn't though lose it in front of everyone, as she needed to put on a strong face.</p><p>At the front of the room was a large shrine and on this shrine was a picture of a child. The child had beautiful bright teal eyes that were narrowed in annoyance. Rangiku wished she had been able to find a picture where he had been more child like with his eyes, but hadn't been able to find one in time. The child also had beautiful white hair that cascaded down in front of his eyes. For those who didn't recognize the Shinigami outfit they might assume that the child was dressed for some kind of family photo, but truth of the matter was this child never knew his real family.</p><p>Near the picture was a bowl with incense sticks smoking as per the tradition. There was also the usual bowl of rice that was given to the dead in remembrance as well as some objects as well. To the left of the picture was a vase filled with the flower of the division as well as the flower for the thirteenth division. To the right were two toys that were hand carved with a great deal of care. One was a traditional top and the other was a whistle done in the shape of a dragon.</p><p>These items seemed out of place for someone who was a captain, but they had also been gifts from Isshin and Kaien of the Shiba clan. These were the items she had started with, but more flowers and more toys had come into the room. This of course confused her as she understood flowers at a funeral and perhaps toys for a child who actually acted like a child, but not for her taicho. This caused her to swallow as she wasn't sure what to think about the gathering of toys. In some ways it made her want to burst into tears right then and there.</p><p>Ukitake came and stood beside her. "How are you handling things?"</p><p>"I'm not handling things well, truth be told. I've lost them both. Gin, now my small taicho. There were certain things I realized too late I think and I'm going to have to live with that the rest of my life."</p><p>"My advice to you Rangiku is to live. Keep Shiro-chan locked in your heart, not forgetting about him."</p><p>"<em>Except I forgot about him before, and the idea of forgetting about him again scares me.</em>" Rangiku continued to survey what was going on. "Ukitake... how are you going to handle this? You've dealt with the deaths of may of your comrades."</p><p>The man sighed. "This one is going to be harder. Shiro-chan wasn't simply a comrade. Actually... I've never had a comrade die who was a child Rangiku. This whole thing... it feels so wrong."</p><p>"I know."</p><p>"Well... Kyoraku is waiting for me. If you need to ever talk, feel free to come over."</p><p>"Thank you." Rangiku watched as the man went over to the head captain. "<em>Why do I get the feeling that he's the one whose going to need to talk more then anyone about this.</em>"</p><p>She took a deep breath and watched as people continued to come and pay their respects. More flowers and stuffed animals arrived. "<em>Why? He hated being treated as a child.</em>"</p><p>"This completely stinks! It's absolutely stupid!"</p><p>Rangiku turned her head to see Renji. She took a deep breath, not at all pleased with the fact he was going off. Everything had been carefully planned. She walked over to him. "Abarai... what do you mean that is stupid?"</p><p>"It's stupid that the fukutaicho of the first division got a captains burial but he doesn't."</p><p>Rangiku took a deep breath. "Abarai... my small taicho was quite fond of the fukutaicho of the first division."</p><p>"I'm not saying that he didn't deserve a full captain's burial, but Hitsugaya of all people deserved full honors. It..."</p><p>Ikkaku suddenly appeared to Renji's side, making a rather irritated face at the younger Shinigami. "Can it. Can't you see you're upsetting her?"</p><p>Yumichika also surprised. "It's also not the right venue for complaining about this particular subject. Mind you... you're not the only one who is upset about all of this. However... having been there..."</p><p>Renji backed down and bowed to Rangiku. "I sincerely apologize for my rude behavior Ms. Rangiku."</p><p>He then darted away. Rangiku turned to look at the two. "So..."</p><p>"We came to pay our respects." Ikkaku turned his head away.</p><p>"I'm grateful for that." The woman turned to look at the small shrine. "I don't understand all the toys though. Taicho hated being treated like a child. Most everyone should know that. I could understand Hinamori... but..."</p><p>The woman stopped, suddenly biting into her knuckle. Yumichika raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't that one of Hitsugaya Taicho's bad habits?"</p><p>Rangiku blinked a couple of times, caught off guard by this statement. Ikkaku however held out something to her. It was a wooden toy that he had taken the time to make. "The reason everyone is bringing toys is because everyone is aware that he missed out on his childhood. That bothers a lot of people. Myself included."</p><p>The woman found herself biting her lip as Ikkaku headed over to add his gift to the small shrine. Yumichika however didn't leave. "How are you doing?"</p><p>"What do you mean?"</p><p>"He died in your arms Matsumoto. You couldn't stop crying even after his body disintegrated. Do you feel like you failed him?"</p><p>"Is that really something you should be asking?" Rangiku continued to fiddle with her lip.</p><p>"I ask it because you seem to be beating yourself up about what happened. You did your best. Hitsugaya Taicho also wouldn't want you beating yourself up about this."</p><p>"Truth be told that's not what I'm beating myself up about." The woman took a deep breath. "I'm beating myself up because in the last two years I've lost the two most important men in my life. I don't feel like I can get close to anyone again."</p><p>"You know... Gin may still be alive. It was never confirmed what happened to him after the winter war."</p><p>Rangiku took a deep breath. "That just makes things worse. If he was alive... if he is alive, I don't think I'd be able to face him without wanting to kill him. Not after what happened to taicho."</p><p>Yumichika simply stood there, the silence lasting for a good few minutes. "Rangiku... is there something you're hiding from everyone."</p><p>The woman took a deep breath. "Don't worry. There is no point in bringing it up with anyone now. I don't want anyone's pity about this."</p><p>She continued to watch the wake and finally it was over. Dozens of toys and bundles of flowers were on the small shrine. She found herelf taking a deep breath, only to turn to see Nanao and her taicho coming to see her. Kyoraku tilted his hat. "Rangiku... this may not be the right time to bring this up. A few people... no, a lot of people... they've asked if the shrine can be left open to the public. I know you were wanting it to be private..."</p><p>"Why? Why would..."</p><p>"He was well loved."</p><p>"Well... I can't say no to that logic." Rangiku took a deep breath.</p><p>"Taicho... if you don't mind, I'm going to go out to drink with Matsumoto Fukutaicho."</p><p>"No... that's all right. I've got to see to Jushiro. He's not handling this well. Rangiku, if you could do me a favor could you visit him daily."</p><p>"Yeah... when I can. He always doted on my small taicho and I appreciated that." She turned to head out with Nanao, taking a deep breath as she did.</p><p>Nanao walked along with her. "So... who are you going to tell about this?"</p><p>"I honestly don't know. There is really no need to tell people that taicho... my small taicho, happens to be my child." She paused, remembering the eyes that had gone from a bright teal color to a pale teal color that matched Gin's. "No... there is one other person I need to tell. Ukitake Taicho. I'd feel bad about not sharing this with him, considering how much he's always cared about taicho."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Glitched Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A clicking sound filled the classroom as the white piece of chalk moved across the board forming white kanji. The male teacher stood at the front of the classroom with his left hand in his left pants pocket. For some reason the man stopped what he was doing, his eyes darting to the right without turning his head. "Ms. Kimura... please bring that compact you're playing with up to the front of the classroom."</p><p>This caused a sigh of displeasure from the group of girls that formed Ms. Kimura's personal clique, the most audible sigh being her own. She stood up and walked to the front of the classroom, flipping her bleached orange hair in annoyance at the fact she had managed to get caught. The click of her heals was heard as she turned around and headed back to her desk and the chair made a scraping sound as she flung her weight into it in annoyance. She turned to complain to her friends, only for the teacher to speak up again. "And no complaining unless you want detention."</p><p>The teacher then went back to the lesson, his white chalk clicking again against the board. The bell rang a few minutes later and there was a major sound of the desks scraping the floor as the students got up to leave. In a fluid motion he turned, telling them what that nights homework would be. The vast majority of girls groaned as well as rolled their eyes at him before heading out of the room. Ms. Kimura stood up and walked to the desk, her hand reaching out to grab the compact. The man pulled the compact away. "Sorry, but you know the rules Ms. Kimura."</p><p>The compact then slipped into the desk drawer and was locked up with a quick turn of the key. The man removed the key and swung it around his finger. The girl tried to whine in an annoying manner. "But I need that compact. I can't do my makeup otherwise."</p><p>"I'm to care why?"</p><p>"Because I can't be beautiful otherwise."</p><p>"Elegant is the female who can look beautiful with little to no makeup."</p><p>"What kind of Chinese proverb is that?" The girl snorted, irritated that her pleas were going unnoticed.</p><p>"To be honest, I came up with that on the spur of the moment."</p><p>Another girl nervously came up to the desk, pushing up at her horn-rimmed glasses as she did so. Her friend who participated on many of the schools athletic teams stood slightly behind her, her mouth twisted up into a frown. The nervous girl's hands were hidden behind her back. "Shiba Sensei..."</p><p>The man looked at her, causing the girl's cheeks to flush at the site of his aqua colored eyes. One hand reached up to scratch his black hair. "Yes Ms. Imai?" The girl suddenly took a deep breath, almost as if it were now or never. Her hands came out from behind her back with a bag of cookies in them. The man blinked a couple of times. "<em>Not again...</em>"</p><p>"<em>You do look like you're just out of high school if not still in high school.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Shut up Nejibana.</em>" The man didn't appreciate the comments being made inside his head.</p><p>The girl swallowed and then fidgeted. Despite the fact he knew where this was going to go he decided to ask the other question. "What ever for?"</p><p>He watched as her friend flinched, her mouth twisting up in anger. "What do you mean 'what ever for'? Can't you tell she made those for you Shiba Sensei?"</p><p>As the girl had gotten close to the desk as well, his hand went out so he could flick her in the forehead. A red spot appeared on her forehead despite the fact he held back a great deal. "Do you really think I'm stupid Ms. Ishikawa? I know very well that she made the cookies for me. What I'd like to know is what possessed her to do such a thing?"</p><p>Ms. Imai's brown eyes suddenly welled up with tears. Her friend stepped between her and the teacher. ""She has a crush on you. Does it really hurt to accept the cookies? I mean, it's an innocent crush, right?"</p><p>"Innocent crush?" The three girls suddenly backed away from the man as he gave off a deadly aura. "I know you consider yourself her friend, but what kind of friend supports their friends crushes on their teachers? What if the teacher were to reciprocate the feelings? What..." He paused, seeing that Ms. Imai's eyes suddenly looked hopeful. "...would happen to your friend then?" He took a deep sigh, tapping the back of his head with his folder. "Seriously... Ms. Ishikawa, in case you haven't noticed Ms. Imai needs you to look out for her."</p><p>"Still... what harm could a teacher kindly turning her down and telling her what a charming girl she is be? Or that if she were older and not the teachers student that she might have a chance?"</p><p>"Problem?" The man glared at the two girls. "Because it wouldn't be true."</p><p>Ms. Kimura suddenly laughed. "Oh... lovely. The teacher's gay. Wait until..."</p><p>"Yes. The teacher who is still morning his dead wife is gay. Brilliant deduction Ms. Kimura and quite insulting." The girl swallowed. "Yes... what you just said wasn't tactful." The three girls looked away, not at all comfortable where the conversation had gone. The man continued. "A piece of advice here. Despite the fact you may like a guy, they may not ever reciprocate your feelings. Don't go looking for Prince Charming. Look for someone whose your better half."</p><p>Ms. Imai's eyes widened. "So... Shiba Sensei believes in soul mates?"</p><p>The man sighed and instead walked to the door. "Get going. Getting caught loitering after school hours unless you have club activities is frowned upon." Tapping the back of his head with his folder in annoyance he headed to the teachers room. He pulled his bag from the desk and put his folder into the bag. He thankfully didn't need to make any copies. He stopped short when the principle suddenly spoke up.</p><p>"So... how did things go today?"</p><p>"I broke another students heart."</p><p>One of the female teachers snorted. "Why are you even surprised that the girls would want to flirt with you?"</p><p>"I'm not surprised that one or two has a crush on me. What surprises me is the fact they're acting on said crushes. I mean, shouldn't they know better?"</p><p>"Obviously you have no daughters of your own."</p><p>The man remained silent for awhile, before speaking up. "I have two nieces their age. That makes what they're doing even creepier. So if you please, the subject is closed."</p><p>"Yes... until the next incident. I think it is cute." The woman laughed while the principle uttered an apology.</p><p>"By the way. There is a teacher's position opening up at Karakura high school next year."</p><p>"So... you're trying to get rid of me."</p><p>"No. It's nothing like that. I'd rather not lose you. It's actually the teacher whose retiring who is requesting that you take the position. Despite only being here for less then a year they like the fact you don't let the students walk over you."</p><p>"<em>Pay cut likely.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Yes... but no obnoxious junior high students. The school also won't be all girls.</em>"</p><p>"It would be a raise."</p><p>"<em>Great...</em>" The man took his raincoat out of his bag.</p><p>One of the male teachers laughed. "Oh come on! There isn't a cloud in the sky. There was also no reports of rain."</p><p>The female teacher laughed. "Don't under estimate Shiba Sensei's ability to predict the weather and be prepared for it. I'll be grabbing one of the umbrella's from lost and found for today as I forgot mine at home again."</p><p>The man shook his head and headed out to where his motorbike waited. His hands were on the handles when his phone began to rang. Letting out a deep sigh he reached in and placed the phone to his ear. "What do you want Isshin?"</p><p>"<em>Ahh... can't your loving older twin brother call to say how much he loves you?</em>"</p><p>"More like you're trying to get me to check in. I don't need you to babysit me Isshin. Actually... if I remember correctly I used to be the one who had to babysit you as you were always getting into trouble."</p><p>"Well... if I'm now having to babysit you, then that means I'm now the responsible one and you're the irresponsible one."</p><p>"It doesn't work that way." The man clicked the phone shut and started up the engine on his motorbike before taking off to his apartment. "<em>Thank god there is no school tomorrow.</em>" The rain began to pour down, soaking into his pants legs but not the upper area. The man found himself pulling to a stop as a sudden feeling hit him. This caused him to suddenly change direction and stop near a bridge. Swallowing he got off a bike.</p><p>"<em>It's not a Hollow, so why are you worried?</em>"</p><p>"<em>Because I know this rieatsu spike and something feels off.</em>" The man took the keys with him and arrived down at the lower part. The man swallowed, not at all happy at what he saw. Huddled up against a wall was a boy with stark white hair, completely naked. "<em>Yeah... this so feels like what happened to me. But...</em>" The man reached into his pocket and dialed a number. It rung and when the person on the other side picked up he said the name he was looking for. "Isshin?"</p><p>"<em>Oh... so you're now in trouble and want big brother's help. First you need to apologize for hanging up on me.</em>"</p><p>"There isn't any time for this. Toshiro..."</p><p>Isshin quickly interrupted him. "<em>Kaien... Toshiro's dead</em>.<em>"</em></p><p>"What did you mean he's dead? Seriously... of all the things not to tell me, that is <em>not</em> one of them. Plus..."</p><p>"<em>Kaien. Toshiro's been dead for over a week now. They held his funeral wake yesterday.</em>"</p><p>"That's not possible. He's right here in..." The man felt his hand's tremble. "Isshin. I need your help."</p><p>"<em>An apology?</em>"</p><p>"Stop acting like a childish moron! You're just miffed that I get to live the bachelor life style you wanted. Well I have news for you! You've got the life I wanted with Miyako!" Kaien took a deep breath. "Seriously... how can you not have picked up the fact <em>it</em> has happened again. This time though... I think it's worse then my situation."</p><p>"<em>You mean...</em>" Isshin stopped short. "<em>I'll be there in a bit. No... do you think you can meet me at your apartment? You need to get him warmed up.</em>"</p><p>The phone clicked off and Kaien watched as his breath began to form ice crystals in the air. "Seriously... how am I supposed to carry a naked child without..." He paused, before letting out an irritated sigh. Swinging the waterproof bag off his shoulder he set it down next to the boy and pulled of his rain jacket. "I hope for your sake kiddo that this works. The last thing we need is to be having to modify the memories of people in the living world."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Downpour</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Kaien pulled the rain jacket over Toshiro's shoulders the boy did not respond. Instead the white haired youth shook uncontrollably and stared blankly at the wall. "<em>How exactly am I to get him home when he is as unresponsive as this. I can't take him on the bike. I also need a way to make sure that bike doesn't get stolen as it is my way of getting to work.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Yes... you weren't much more responsive then this. And why are you more worried about you're bike then the kid. How irresponsible.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Nejibana... now is not the time. This wouldn't be happening if Isshin had listened to me when I told him Toshiro was worse off them me. You and I both know he is. I at least recognized my own brother. Toshiro... he can't recognize me. And also... leaving the motorbike here is highly irresponsible. The last thing we need is the police knocking at our doors.</em>" Kaien began to button the coat firmly around the boy's body. He looked at the bag. "<em>Unfortunately... I think that I am going to have to use that. Isshin is going to be pissed.</em>"</p><p>The man left Toshiro against the wall and reached for his bag, glad that he was under the bridge so the contents wouldn't get wet. He pulled out an item and shut the bag. Standing up he popped a Soul Candy in his mouth. The being now in his body saluted him. "Yo!"</p><p>"The keys to my bike are in your pocket. I need you to take the bike back to the house. If you get a scratch on it I will try this method I've heard about of sticking you into a stuffed animal and I will not hesitate to torture you. Make a fool of me and I will torture you as well."</p><p>"All right dude!" The being saluted and headed to the bike. Kaien grabbed the bag and swung it over his shoulder, hiding his spiritual pressure and hoping that no one had noticed. The positive side of things was that the thirteenth and tenth divisions didn't patrol this area. The bad news was there was still Shinigami out there that could recognize his spiritual pressure. Bending over he scooped up the boy and began to flashstep.</p><p>Arriving at his small house he looked around and didn't see anyone watching. His left hand darted down to his bag and fished out the keys to his house and quickly unlocked the door. He stepped in, feeling the kido barrier that was set up so that those with spiritual pressure couldn't be felt while they were inside. He let out a deep breath and headed over to the couch to set the boy down, only to hear a voice from the other side of the room.</p><p>"Kaien!" The voice caused him to jump, his eyes turning to glare at his older twin brother. Despite being twins there was now an age gap between them physically and for some reason Isshin liked acting like an adult despite the fact he wasn't much more mature then he was. This wasn't to say Isshin couldn't be mature when he wanted to, but he had always been the one to goof off.</p><p>Kaien continued to glare at Isshin and choose not to respond. Instead he headed over to the couch and set the boy down. His brother called his name again and he looked up, angry that Isshin had pulled the stunt he had. "What?"</p><p>"What are you doing out of your body? You know that we placed special kido on your body that hid your reiatsu."</p><p>"You know... I wouldn't have had to ditch my body if you had come to the bridge instead of meeting me here. And how did you get in?"</p><p>"I have a key."</p><p>"Since when?"</p><p>"Urahara made it for me."</p><p>"I'll have to have a word with him about that."</p><p>"What ever for?"</p><p>"Isshin, seriously stop being an overprotective mother hen!"</p><p>"I wouldn't have to be an overprotective mother hen if you didn't mess up! We need to get Toshiro dry!"</p><p>The man took a deep breath. "I would have started getting him dry if you hadn't been such a pain in the ass. Seriously... knock it off." Kaien stood up and headed into the hall way. "I can very well take care of my son Isshin, so <em>don't</em> act like... like... well, how you're acting."</p><p>Isshin frowned, only to turn to look at Kaien. "Wait. Did you say what I think you did? Toshiro isn't your son Kaien."</p><p>"Last time I checked the adoption papers went through. Toshiro is Miyako and my son."</p><p>"Those legal papers don't work here in the world of the living! They have no legal basis." It was then that the soul candy that had been in charge of his body came in. It stepped into Kaien and the soul candy popped out of his mouth and he caught it, glaring at Isshin as he did so. "And look at yourself! You're soaking wet!"</p><p>"I told you..." Kaien pointed a finger at Isshin. "Stop being a mother hen. Neither one of us need it. You know as well as I that Urahara will have to draw up papers for Toshiro just like he did for me. Unlike myself Toshiro can't get a job to support himself. He needs someone to take care of him."</p><p>"He doesn't know about the adoption Kaien. He was never told." A silence fell over the room. The decision Kaien made was to ignore his older brother and instead headed over to Toshiro and began to pull off the wet raincoat.</p><p>"Does that matter? It's lonely here and I care about him. You know as well as I that you've been keeping my existence a secret from your family. I've not gotten a chance to meet your daughters and meeting Ichigo is highly out of the question as he'll put things together."</p><p>"Particularly since he now knows I was a former Shiba."</p><p>"Neither one of us have anywhere else to go. I think we can make it work."</p><p>Isshin sighed, before moving to scratch his head. "Fine. Fine. I'll admit that it might work out."</p><p>"But you're not willing to admit that you were wrong again?" Kaien shook his head. "I'm going to go and get one of my nightshirts. Just... do that doctor thing you do."</p><p>Isshin let out a sigh as he walked over to the small boy, bringing his medical bag with him. He opened it up and removed a flashlight, clicking it on to shine the light in the boy's half open eyes. He swallowed as he saw no response. Taking out his stethoscope he felt around to see if the child was breathing, only to find himself shaking his head. There was a heart beat and breathing, but everything was very faint.</p><p>Kaien came back. "So?"</p><p>"You're not going to like what I have to say. Put that nightshirt on him first so that he is decent."</p><p>The younger twin sighed, carefully lifting the boy up and pulled the nightshirt over the child's head. "Isshin... I know something is upsetting you."</p><p>"I hate to tell you this, but we've got to get him to the hospital."</p><p>Kaien's entire body froze. He gently settled the boy back down. "Isshin... you know as well as I we can't bring people of the living world into this mess. Why not Urahara?"</p><p>"Because Urahara treats sicknesses of the soul. Just like you Toshiro is in a physical body and his ailment is something a doctor needs to treat. I <em>need</em> the hospitals equipment."</p><p>The man stood, swallowing. "Seriously... this isn't good. You know they'll ask questions."</p><p>Isshin looked him right in the eye. "Trust your big brother on this one. I know what I'm doing."</p><p>"<em>You know that when he gets serious there is no stopping him. He'll succeed at what he's set out to do.</em>"</p><p>Kaien brushed what his zampaktuo said away, scratching his head. "You could at least explain things to me. I hate you being all secretive. It used to be Isshin you and I shared everything. Then you went to the world of the living twice and you still haven't told me what happened."</p><p>"There is someone I met from that time whose going to help us."</p><p>"And why is he going to help us? No... seriously. Shouldn't it be you who owes him a favor, not the other way around."</p><p>Isshin took a deep breath. "Actually... it is more like the two of us owe Urahara. You could also say he's family. He has every reason in the world to help us out." He then looked at Toshiro. "Plus... there are other circumstances as to why he'd want to help Toshiro, but I can't go into them at this point."</p><p>Kaien knelt down besides the small couch. "Isshin... are you sure?"</p><p>"Yes." The man walked over to the phone and dialed a number. "Hello. I need to speak to the director of your hospital, Ishida Ryuken. The person who is calling is Kurosaki Isshin." There came another pause. "Hi Ryuken. I need your help with something. No... you know I wouldn't call you if it wasn't an emergency." Isshin hung up the phone. "The ambulance will be here soon."</p><p>"Can we trust the people he sends?"</p><p>"Yes. Now's not the time to explain why though."</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Hospital</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Two aqua eyes looked at two teal eyes hoping that there would be some kind of reaction from the small child that lay on the couch. Kaien had gone and gotten a blanket and tucked it around Toshiro in an attempt to further warm the child, but this wasn't helping the boy to respond. No outside stimulus was working. The man swallowed before looking up at his twin brother. "Isshin... when you found me I wasn't this bad was I?"</p><p>Isshin remained silent for a few minutes, looking at the door hoping the ambulance would arrive. "No. You weren't this bad. You didn't remember that you had died, even forgotten everything that occurred after you took the fukutaicho position in Ukitake's squad. You remember everything now though."</p><p>The sound of knocking on the door was heard and Isshin went to the door. "I'll be back. I need to help Ryuken get the stretcher."</p><p>"<em>I see that Isshin's friend has personally come himself. I'm still not quite understanding what the relationship between those two is. Isshin's not very forth right about all of this.</em>" A few minutes later Isshin came back into the room with a man with white hair and glasses. The two pulled in the stretcher and they lowered it so they could easily transport Toshiro onto the stretcher. Kaien watched as they lifted the boy up onto the stretcher and wrapped more blankets around him, tightening the straps.</p><p>"Don't worry. We didn't use sirens, so if we hurry your neighbors won't know anything is amiss." The stranger said.</p><p>Kaien let out a sigh and followed them, locking the door up behind him. He helped Isshin to get the stretcher into the back, glad that the rain had diminished greatly. Isshin's friend closed the door and got in on the passenger side of the vehicle. The vehicle started up, moving fast as Isshin began to use some of the equipment on Toshiro. Kaien wished he could reach out to touch the boy's hand, but it was secured under the blankets.</p><p>Upon arriving at the hospital they waited for the doors to open. Kaien couldn't help but notice that it wasn't the usual entrance. The driver poked his head out of the window. "Sir... will you be needing any help."</p><p>"No. We have it handled. Take the ambulance back in case anyone else needs it. You know what to say if anyone asks." The two began to pull the stretcher to a side door and Kaien followed, frowning as he did so. They headed down some stairs to a room that looked to be secret, much like how Urahara's rooms were secret. This room was filled with the equipment that Isshin needed. Ryuken helped Isshin to examine the boy and they got an IV drip going. The boy was also attached to a respiratory machine to help control his sporadic breathing.</p><p>"So?" Kaien asked when they finished and stepped out to a side room that looked to be a hidden office.</p><p>"He's in a comma." Ryuken stated. His demeanor was cold. "Isshin... who exactly is this child?"</p><p>"That child is Toshiro, my former third seat. I've told you about him. You remember, right?"</p><p>"Yes. I remember." Something the man said surprised the two. "Are you <em>sure</em> that he's a Shinigami?"</p><p>Kaien suddenly bristled. "Do you have a problem with Shinigami?"</p><p>"I have a neutral stance in regards to them when it comes to Shinigami outside of the Kurosaki family." The man looked back at the room with the boy. "That, and if the Shinigami is a child. That child though is no Shinigami."</p><p>Isshin blinked a couple of times while Kaien stared at the man. The younger twin felt the corner of his mouth twist up. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"</p><p>"I mean that child isn't a Shinigami. He's a Quincy. To..."</p><p>Kaien quickly interrupted. "How is it that you know he's a Quincy."</p><p>"Because I am one."</p><p>The younger glared at the man. "Are you saying Toshiro is a Quincy you have reason to take custody of him?"</p><p>"If you would have let me finish you would have heard me say that to be exact he's a Quincy in the sense Isshin's children are Quincy."</p><p>Kaien took a deep breath, not at all pleased at where this conversation was going. He turned his head to Isshin to see that his brother wasn't arguing against this point. More to the point. "Isshin..."</p><p>"Look, I didn't betray you by bringing you to Ryuken. I've known even before Ichigo was born about this."</p><p>"What?" The younger twinge felt his voice as he really did feel betrayed.</p><p>"Really? This is the first I've heard about this. When exactly did you find out?"</p><p>"Your father allowed me free access to his library. One day I found Hyorinmaru's symbol in one of the books and asked your father about it."</p><p>"I've read all of the books in my father's library. What symbol was it?"</p><p>"It was <em>that</em> symbol." Isshin looked at Kaien. "I'll explain things to you later, about all of this."</p><p>Kaien could pick up his twins mood and knew that something was bothering him. "I get it. The reason you don't want to tell me right now isn't because you want to keep secrets. You really don't want to talk about this right now. Just like you didn't want to talk about dad's death right after he died."</p><p>Ryuken frowned. "Shiba Kaien... if you don't mind, there are a few questions I'd like to ask Isshin on a medical basis. Would you mind stepping in and sitting with young Hitsugaya right now?"</p><p>"Sure..." Kaien slipped out of the room.</p><p>"Isshin... how did Toshiro die? Did the Shinigami kill him for betraying them?"</p><p>"I know why you're asking the question Ryuken. It was his own people that betrayed him. One severely injured him, one taxed him until he died of those injuries and another used his corpse to fight against the Shinigami." The man folded his arms across his chest. "Why do you ask?"</p><p>"Your brother and this child came back to life because their entry back into the cycle of rebirth was interrupted, thus causing things to mess up. If you only look at that fact there shouldn't be a difference and thus be no difference in how they re-entered. However... I think it has to do with the mental trauma."</p><p>"Come on Ryuken. Toshiro's a tough kid." Isshin shook his head in disbelief.</p><p>"From what you've told me he is. You and I both know that he has a mind of a child and will thus take things as a child will take them. There may be things about his death you haven't been told. Your brother went in fighting with a blind rage and didn't harm anyone he cared about."</p><p>Isshin scratched the back of his head. "I'll tell Kaien."</p><p>"Also tell him I won't try to take Toshiro from him. We've got to be careful about her finding out though."</p><p>He slipped from one room to another, finding his brother sitting in a chair with his knees pulled to his chest. Kaien turned his aqua colored eyes to look at Isshin. "So?"</p><p>"He really doesn't want to take Toshiro, but we have to be careful as there is someone who would take great interest in finding out about him in the world of the living. As for medical issues, Ryuken put forth the idea that the reason Toshiro is in a comma is because he ended up mentally broken in the war before he died."</p><p>"Are you going to tell me how he died?"</p><p>"Another time. The details I got from Urahara were vague. I really didn't want to hear at the time all that happened to Toshiro, considering the fact we always thought of him as part of our family. I need to press for more answers so Ryuken and I can figure out if it really does have any relation to why things are different this time around. Also... Kaien..."</p><p>Isshin stopped and Kaien listened to the silence. "If you're not ready to tell me, don't. I don't have to think of Toshiro as having died as long as you don't tell me. So... only tell me when you're good and ready. Then I get to be the basket case." Silence fell over the room and Kaien decided to speak again. "Isshin... is Toshiro going to make it. I mean... he gets this second chance at a life and for it to be taken from him?"</p><p>"I know. It would just be so horrible. This said, it's honestly his choice whether he wants to live or not."</p><p>"I don't see it that way."</p><p>"Aren't I usually the one who is being the optimist and you the pessimist."</p><p>"I've got to be optimist about this Isshin. No, the way I see it is this. It's our decision whether Toshiro lives or dies. His will to live is going to depend on our interactions with him over the next few days."</p><p>"You can't miss work Kaien. Neither can I."</p><p>"I know. I'm going to come when I can. If he's at a point where he is questioning whether to live or not, then we need to give him a reason to live. That may be the real difference between the two of us. I had plenty of reasons to live after Miyako died and I got thrown out of the cycle of rebirth. I knew you were alive despite everyone being gone and I knew Toshiro was alive as well."</p><p>"Kaien... is this more for yourself or Toshiro. I mean... if he's gone, does that mean you have lost part of what makes you want to live?"</p><p>"I've still got your kids to meet."</p><p>"You know why you can't meet."</p><p>"It would be nice though if things changed so that I could possibly meet them. I'm glad only Ichigo has been drug into this whole family mess of ours with Soul Society. It really does brighten my day knowing the girls are doing fine."</p><p>"Speaking of girls... how is your job doing."</p><p>"I have girls the age of my nieces trying to flirt with me. How do you think my day went. Oh yeah... I also found the child I think of as my own sun under a bridge naked, shivering and unresponsive. I had to use a soul candy to send my body and bike home because you were being an arse about the whole thing. I used my raincoat on Toshiro, which meant I got soaked."</p><p>Isshin suddenly tugged on his brother's sleeve. "By the way... you really need to change your clothes as you are still quite wet." He then sighed and stood up. "I've got to get back to the house. Yuzu's dinner is waiting. I'll bring you leftovers if there are any, but Ichigo and Karin have large appetites because of their reiatsu, so no guarantee. I'll tell them that I need to keep an eye on a patient the next coming weeks and maybe Yuzu will pack me some dinners."</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Rain of Tears</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Upon the sounding of the school bell the desk chairs scraped against floor of the classroom. The sounds of bags being picked up off the hooks on the desk was also heard as well as the students discussing their plans for that particular weekend. Many of the girls discussed going out for karaoke or having slumber parties, while many of the guys discussed going to play at the arcade or scoring the next release of a popular game.</p><p>Karin picked up her school bag and swung it over her shoulder to head on home. She paused to see her sister chatting away with some of the girls, likely planning on some kind of event as well as possibly planning on dragging her along. Choosing to instead ignore the other girls she headed to the door, only for Yuzu to let out a sound of dismay as she was being left behind. She hurried forward, her bag being held in front of her.</p><p>They arrived at the shoe lockers and she opened up her own locker. Out of her corner of her eye she saw a couple of girls peeking around the corner, one muttering under her breath about how cool the Kurosaki twins were only to let out a sigh of annoyance. This kind of treatment for herself had been non-existent before she and Yuzu had entered middle school. Yuzu of course was used to being idolized but she didn't very well like it.</p><p>She switched out of the pair of shoes she wore for school and switched into her tennis shoes and turned to leave, only to find Yuzu tugging at her sleeve. "It's going to rain Karin. You had better get your umbrella out as well."</p><p>"I like the rain. I bought a water proof school bag for a reason you know."</p><p>"Karin-chan!"</p><p>"Fine!" Karin lowered her bag and pulled out the umbrella she had in her bag, ready to open it as soon as it started to pour down rain. After a few drops she popped it open with a thud, thinking nothing about what was going on around her. The smells of the rain were nice and she found herself enjoying the coolness of the afternoon. Something though had been tugging at her mind since her brother left.</p><p>"Ichigo's going to be back from that soccer camp soon, right?"</p><p>"I hope so." A sudden chill ran down her spin and her eyes darted towards the bridge in the distance. Her mouth opened briefly and she made to go in that direction, only to find Yuzu grabbing onto her wrist.</p><p>"Come on Karin. We've got to get home to set up for the slumber party."</p><p>Karin swallowed, still looking in the direction she had felt the flare of rieatsu. It was all to familiar and the feeling that <em>that</em> person needed help couldn't escape her mind. She tugged her arm free from her sister. "Yuzu... are you sure that the slumber party is a good idea? I'm surprised that dad gave us permission."</p><p>"I think it is a wonderful idea. You and Ichi-nii never invite friends over because you're afraid of someone finding out about your secret, that you guys can see ghosts. That's why you always made friends with guys. It gave you an excuse to not invite them over. But when you met a friend who happened to be able to see spirits you were quite fine with inviting him over."</p><p>"What friend?" Karin blinked a couple of times, swallowing again in hopes that her sister wouldn't pick up on the fact she was worried about something.</p><p>"Toshiro of course! He can see spirits! That's why you invited him over! That's why the two of you are dating, right?"</p><p>Karin took a deep breath. "Yuzu. We're not dating."</p><p>"Yes you are. I know he likes you."</p><p>"Whether he likes me or not is a mute point when he is unable to confess those feelings." Karin looked back in the direction of the bridge. "<em>Toshiro... what kind of trouble have you gotten in this time? You know that I'm not strong enough to rescue your but unless you're messing up in front of me because you're such a baka.</em>"</p><p>"Come on Karin! It's our first sleepover. And Ichigo's not going to be home, so we don't have to worry about any embarrassing situations."</p><p>"Yeah... what about dad. I mean..." Karin let out a sharp sound of dismay upon feeling Toshiro's rieatsu suddenly disappear.</p><p>"Karin?"</p><p>"Oh... I mean that dad tends to do embarrassing things."</p><p>"If he does something embarrassing at the sleepover I told him he has to do the kitchen duties for at least a whole week, if not a month." Yuzu smiled at her sister. "Getting back to the point of this slumber party Karin. You really need to interact more with other girls you know. All you do is hang out with boys, yet you say all of them are perverts."</p><p>"Except Toshiro. Toshiro is... well, he's different."</p><p>"Don't you want to gossip about him with other girls?"</p><p>"Not really." She watched Yuzu's face falter. "Toshiro doesn't really like being talked about. It makes him nervous and he's worried that when people gossip about him that they're saying bad things about him."</p><p>"But you've only got nice things to say about him. I mean he's the perfect prince charming."</p><p>"No, he's not. I mean, I could list off the ways he is perfect. I did that once in front of him and he began spluttering off how he isn't perfect. Can we change the subject please?" Karin swallowed. "<em>Please be at home Ichi-nii. I can ask for you to go after Toshiro.</em>"</p><p>The two girls arrived at the house, only to have their father nearly knock them over. "Sorry girls. I've got an emergency patient."</p><p>"Daddy! What about the slumber party?"</p><p>"Ichigo's going to be back this afternoon. Plus, I'll go and do what I need to do." The man disappeared while Yuzu stomped her foot.</p><p>"Let me guess. You're not happy that Ichi-nii is coming back?"</p><p>"That idiot is sure to do something embarrassing. I know he is." Yuzu shook out her umbrella and placed it by the door before heading in to drop her school bag on the kitchen table. She went over and began to start popping popcorn.</p><p>Karin proceeded to do the same with her things. She then sat in the chair looking at her sister. "You know Yuzu. These girls are your friends. I've got nothing in common with them, nothing I can bond with them about. I mean, I'm not interested in gossiping about guys as none of the guys at school even remotely interest me and the one guy I could talk about. Well, I told you why I don't want to gossip about him."</p><p>The doorbell rang and Karin went to the door, letting in the two of the girls that Yuzu had invited over. "Hi Midoriko. You're..."</p><p>"Don't worry. I'm Sawako Sai. It's nice to meet you." Karin let them in and watched as they placed their bags onto the table.</p><p>The doorbell rang and Karin answered again. "Hi. Misami Ino, correct?"</p><p>"Yeah. You remember me from elementary school. I'm a bit surprised. I kind of don't stand out."</p><p>Karin sighed as she watched the other girls begin to gossip and she began to fidget. The door opened and she looked up expecting it to be her father, but instead it was her brother who came in. He was dripping wet and leaned over. "Hey... what's going on."</p><p>"Dad let us have a slumber party."</p><p>"Really? So... when exactly did you guys ask dad to have the slumber party." Ichigo watched as the girls at the table giggled. Ino waved at him and he nervously waved back.</p><p>"Early this week."</p><p>"So... when he was pre-occupied with something else on his mind."</p><p>"He's still fine with it Ichigo." Karin sighed.</p><p>"Are you?" Ichigo watched her suddenly glare at him. "Never mind. That was an annoying question."</p><p>"Ichi-nii... is something upsetting you?" Karin watched as her sister brought over the popcorn.</p><p>Ichigo looked over at the girls, frowning as he did so. "I do need to tell you about this, but later."</p><p>"Ichi-nii..."</p><p>The boy smiled at her despite the look of sadness in his eyes. "I don't want to ruin your guys slumber party. So I'll tell you tomorrow."</p><p>"Toshiro..." Karin swallowed.</p><p>"How..." Ichigo glanced nervously at the girls. Yuzu's face suddenly faltered. The older teen took a deep breath. "All right. I'll talk to you about it upstairs."</p><p>"But..." Karin's twin didn't like the fact she hadn't been invited.</p><p>"No. This is for Karin's ears Yuzu. You know it is."</p><p>Karin could swear that her brother looked extremely tired. As she headed up the stairs she heard Sai speak up. "Whose this Toshiro person?"</p><p>"Karin's boyfriend. Well, sort of. He's this guy who has a crush on her but hasn't been able to admit it."</p><p>The want to block out the infernal gossip caused Karin to shake her head. "Seriously... I wish she'd stop."</p><p>"I'm going to change as I'm soaking wet. Wait in your room."</p><p>The girl went into her room and sat on the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest. Something told her she wasn't going to like what her brother had to say. Ichigo came in and sat on the bed next to her. "You do understand that what I have to say is bad news, right? Actually... you do understand that being a Shinigami is dangerous, right?"</p><p>"Get to the point." Karin muttered into her knees as she looked out in the room. "I'm not a little kid."</p><p>"No. You're not." Ichigo looked at the wall. "Toshiro's dead Karin."</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Tears of Rain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Toshiro's dead Karin." Ichigo looked at her with a straight face, his eyes glazed over slightly. Karin could also see his Adam's apple bob down telling her he wasn't really ready to be discussing the subject but that he was going out of his way to tell her.</p><p>Despite this Karin's mind focused on what she had sensed on her way home from school and she began to worry her lip. "That's not possible."</p><p>"Karin... you know being a Shinigami is dangerous!" Ichigo's voice strained as if he wanted to cry, which in turn made Karin want to cry as well. The subject matter wasn't nice, but something told her that her brother was wrong.</p><p>"I felt his reiatsu a bit ago. He can't have..." Karin opened her mouth, a realization hitting her. "<em>Ichigo tried to save him just a bit ago. He failed. Which means..</em>" The girl let out a sigh, turning her head away from her brother. "Ichi-nii... stop beating yourself up about this."</p><p>Ichigo however ignored her attempt to console him. "Karin... it's not possible for us to have felt his reiatsu a bit ago. We would have had to have been imagining things. Toshiro's been dead..." Her brother paused, looking away suddenly. "They held his memorial service yesterday."</p><p>"Yesterday?" Karin shook her head, frustrated that her brother was being as stubborn as always. "Ichi-nii. I didn't imagine things. And how could..."</p><p>"He's been dead for a week Karin!" Her brother snapped at her, something he never, ever did. This meant something was wrong and Karin didn't like the feeling she was getting off her brother.</p><p>"Let me get this straight. He's been dead for a week and you couldn't tell me? You couldn't even be bothered to make sure I got to go to the memorial service for him? You <em>know</em> he's my best friend!" She felt her anger boil over, only to go slack jaw upon seeing the look on her brother's face. There was no anger at her there, only deep sadness and regret.</p><p>"I didn't go to the memorial service Karin. I couldn't. He..." Her brother's voice strained before looking away. "I know what it's like, not wanting to admit that he's dead."</p><p>Karin folded her arms across her chest. "<em>So either I was imagining things or Ichi-nii felt that spike in reiatsu as well but brushed it off as being his imagination.</em>" She looked away, not at all sure what to say to her brother. "So... you'd be able to recognize his reiatsu if you felt it."</p><p>"Of course I would have Karin." Her brother reached a hand up to grasp his forehead. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect him for you. I know what the two of you mean... meant to each other."</p><p>"What about what Toshiro meant to you?" Karin bit her tongue. "<em>He's not dead! How can you not realize that!" </em>Her brother instead remained silent, his head hung. "I don't blame you, if that helps."</p><p>"I blame myself."</p><p>"<em>Despite the fact you likely were not anywhere near to do something, otherwise you would.</em>" Karin swallowed. "Hey... Ichi-nii. You said there was a memorial service. That means there was no funeral. That means there was no body, so..."</p><p>"Karin. He died in Rangiku-san's arms. He <em>disintegrated</em> in Rangiku's arms. He..." Her brother stood up slipping his hands into his pockets. "Sorry, but this is as much as I can handle right now."</p><p>Karin watched as her brother slipped out of the room to his own and she flopped down onto the bed. "<em>He can't be dead. I know I sensed him a bit ago.</em>" An arm went to cover her eyes as she felt the sobs suddenly rack her body, not at all sure what to do about the situation. A knock came on the door and she wiped them away. "Come in?"</p><p>"Hey... Yuzu us helping the other girls figure out the microwave. Are you all right?" Sai peeked into the room, frowning as she did so.</p><p>"Yeah. I'm fine." Karin bounced off her bed and began to head down the stairs. "<em>I'll cry about it later.</em>"</p><p>"You don't look all right." The other girl folded her arms across her chest. "What did your brother say to you? This guy didn't end up being a jerk and asking some other girl out?"</p><p>"No." Karin paused, looking at the girl. "Ichi-nii came home with news that they believe Toshiro's dead."</p><p>"Why are you acting like nothing is wrong? Shouldn't you be crying your head off?" The girl looked at her, noting that Karin's behavior wasn't unusual.</p><p>"I did cry. I'm pretending that nothing is wrong so that Yuzu doesn't worry. Please don't..."</p><p>"Don't tell her?" Sai shook her head. "She's already worried Karin. And is it that they believe he is dead, or that he is dead."</p><p>"They... had the memorial service yesterday."</p><p>"Well, it was quite cruel of your brother not to tell you two!"</p><p>"That..." Karin looked at the ground.</p><p>"And doesn't that mean he's dead, if they held a memorial service for him?" The girl frowned at Karin.</p><p>The girl took a deep breath. "Yes." Karin looked away. "<em>Under normal circumstances it does.</em>"</p><p>"Tell her. I know you don't want to, but you should."</p><p>Karin frowned, the corner's of her mouth twisting up. "<em>Come on. I barely know you.</em>" She arrived downstairs and saw Yuzu look up from making frozen snacks with the other girls in the microwave. Sandwiches and other food items were on the table. She took a deep breath, realizing that the girl was right... Yuzu would want to know. "Yuzu..."</p><p>"Toshiro is all right, right?"</p><p>Karin swallowed, looking at her sister. "No, he isn't."</p><p>"He's being taken care of though and he should get better, right?"</p><p>The dark haired twin took a deep breath. "Yuzu, Ichi-nii just told me that Toshiro's dead."</p><p>"Karin says your brother didn't tell her about the memorial service that was yesterday."</p><p>Yuzu's eyes widened as Midoriko frowned. "That was mean of your brother to not tell you."</p><p>"Karin... is Ichi-nii..." Karin watched as her sister swallowed. "He's in his dark place, isn't he. He blames himself and isn't letting anyone in."</p><p>"Yeah. Yuzu, could you make up a trey of food for me to take up for him? Toshiro..." Karin paused, not wanting to say those words. "Toshiro died around a week ago. I doubt Ichi-nii's been eating right since then."</p><p>Ino gave the sister's a confused look. "I don't understand. Why aren't the two of you mad at your brother for not telling you sooner."</p><p>Yuzu busied herself with the trey of food. "Ichi-nii did the same thing when mom died. He closed himself off from everyone and it took time to get through to him."</p><p>"We're lucky that he talked to us about this." Karin took the trey of food. "Yuzu... I'm going to try and visit tomorrow. You want to come."</p><p>Her sister frowned then shook her head. "Toshiro's nice, but I didn't get to know him like you and Ichi-nii did."</p><p>"You two talk as if he is still alive. It's not like he's in the hospital where you can visit him." Ino shook her head, biting into a chip.</p><p>Sai spoke up. "Not true. There is the belief that spirits linger sometimes. Graves and shrines also represent a way of communicating with the other side with the ones we love."</p><p>"You believe in ghosts?" Midoriko asked.</p><p>"Yes. I do. I have good reason to." Sai took a chip. "You guys still all right with having a sleepover? I mean, this is kind of bummer news."</p><p>Yuzu opened her mouth to say something about the subject of ghosts only to have Karin interupt her. "It's fine if we still have the slumber party. Let's not talk about ghosts and other dead things though."</p><p>She headed up the stairs and knocked on the door to her brother's room, only to get no answer. She opened the door with her foot and saw her brother lying on his bed with her back to her. <em>"</em>Ichi-nii?"</p><p>When he didn't answer she went and set the food on the desk. "Yuzu's made you some food." She closed her eyes. "<em>Ichi-nii's trained so hard to be able to protect those he cares for. For him to not be able to protect someone.</em>" Karin let out a sigh. "Ichi-nii... I need a favor... so could you listen to me?"</p><p>She heard the sheets on his bed move and she looked over to see that he twisted his head around to look at her. His eyes of course were still glazed over slightly. "What kind of favor?"</p><p>"I want to pay my respects. I need you to take me to Soul Society tomorrow." She watched as her brother sat up, frowning as he did so.</p><p>"Karin... I would love to take you but there are restrictions."</p><p>"Uncle Kyoraku gave us passes so we could come and go. It was supposed to be in case you weren't allowed to come back to the living world, but I can use it to go to Soul Society."</p><p>Her brother remained silent for a bit. "There is a chance I may still end up stuck in Soul Society a lot. They're already talking about me taking Toshiro's place as I'm a prime candidate."</p><p>Karin took a deep breath. "Please?"</p><p>"I know. I know. I may be avoiding paying my respects for a multitude of reasons, but that doesn't mean I should keep you from paying respects. Particular since..." Ichigo paused, swallowing. "No. I'll take you. I'll give Rukia a call and let her know I'll be coming back for a bit tomorrow."</p><p>"Also... eat something." Karin slid out of the door and headed back down the stairs. The mood was dismal. The front door opened and she looked up.</p><p>Isshin stood there shaking out his umbrella. "Hi girls! I'm glad..." He stopped short, picking up on the mood. "Hey? What's going on?"</p><p>"One of Karin's friends died." Ino munched on the popcorn half heartily.</p><p>"Oh... do I know him?" Isshin frowned.</p><p>"No... you don't know Toshiro daddy. Karin never got to introduce you him to you."</p><p>"Toshiro?" Karin watched her father tense up.</p><p>The girl took a deep breath. "Dad... this is the kind of guy I really would have liked to introduce you to." She looked at the door behind him, swallowing as she did so. "<em>Toshiro may be alive and needing rescue.</em>" She stood up and headed to the door. "I think I want to go for a walk dad."</p><p>"Wait... I'll go with you." Isshin grabbed his umbrella. "Young ladies shouldn't be walking alone this late at night."</p><p>"Thanks..." Karin frowned, not wanting to make her father feel unwanted. "<em>How am I to explain things to him if I find Toshiro?</em>"</p><p>They walked in silence towards the bridge. She walked to the underside only to see nothing. Her father had a rather worried look on her face. "Karin... did you like this Toshiro?"</p><p>Karin flinched. "I guess so. I was kind of waiting for him to finally have the courage to confess to me. He... never mind." She paused upon seeing some flashing lights up above. A police officer shown their flashlight down.</p><p>"What's going on down there? You aren't out meeting under aged girls sir?"</p><p>"This loser's my dad." Karin pointed her thumb at Isshin. "I needed to go for a walk because I found out a friend of mine died and he didn't want me out walking by myself."</p><p>The man looked like he wanted to question her, only to have his partner speak up. "There was an explosion on the other side of town. They're calling backup."</p><p>The officer glared, but turned back. Karin sighed, walking back towards the house. Her father spoke up. "So... this really was a guy you'd want to introduce to me."</p><p>"Yeah. I was so mad that you always had other things to do when he showed up. You would have liked him dad."</p><p>"I bet I would. I mean... for a guy to turn your head... he must have been great."</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Bing, Bang, Boom</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Death was not something she wished for and in fact was the thing she feared the most. She could still remember being strangled as she was unable to move and protect herself, only to be brought back moments after her death to be a slave that was half way between life and death. She found herself cursing the fact she had been taken advantage of, that her freedom had been stripped away. She had been angry despite the fact she took the anger out by blowing things up.</p><p>The last thing she wanted was to be thrown away. "<em>You mean like him.</em>" The voice in her head said.</p><p>Two eyes opened up and looked around at the surroundings, not registering what the voice in her head meant at first. A thought though crossed her mind. "<em>What is the point of winning if you yourself don't live?</em>" Her body ached and she felt a chill run through her body, causing her to reach up and grab her shoulder with her right hand, only to realize that her shoulder was bare. Her eyes darted down to see that her body was naked which in turn caused her to sigh.</p><p>She pushed herself up, wondering if Gigi had dumped her off naked somewhere. This caused her to stand up and stomp her foot. "This isn't funny! I really hate you guys!" She flicked her fingers at the dumpster near her and watched it explode upon contact. "All right, come out you guys."</p><p>The girl placed her hands on her hips, her purple hair draping over her shoulders. Silence was what greeted her and she tugged at her locks. Her hair was damp from having touched the rain soaked ground. Her violet eyes looked around before she crossed her arms around her ample chest. "Seriously." She flicked her fingers again, causing something near her to explode again. She crossed her legs and looked around in boredom for something else to explode.</p><p>Police alarms went off causing the voice to go off in her head again. "<em>We're in the world of the living.</em>"</p><p>"No... duh. This is the world of the living." The girl rolled her eyes, watching as the police car rolled up to the end of the alley way. "This really is some cruel prank to pull." She looked to the other side of the alleyway and noticed another police car coming at the other end. "What an annoyance."</p><p>The police officers got out of both cars and she raised both hands up to flick balls of rieatsu at the cars, causing them to explode and catch on fire. This in turn caused the police officers to turn their attention to the vehicle fire while she used Hirenkyaku to move to the roof. She leaned over to look at the chaos below and saw more cars coming. For some reason she moved away from the place as the police swarmed the place. "<em>Why? I know I can take them on.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Because you don't want to end up like him.</em>" The girl swallowed as she moved past someone's clothes line, only to stop short and grab a shirt and panties from the line to pull on. The clothing was wet and she felt shivers run down her spine.</p><p>She finally stopped after getting a few blocks away and sunk down onto the rooftop, shriving as she crouched hidden behind an item on the roof. "<em>I hate the cold.</em>"</p><p>"<em>That's because it reminds you of him.</em>" The girl swallowed, brushing off the comment from the voice in her head before drifting into an uneasy sleep.</p><p>
  <strong>M</strong>
</p><p>"<em>It reminds me of him. That's why I hate the cold and wish to have nothing to do with it." The girl looked around and noticed that she was in another cold place and she wrapped her arms around her chest area, realizing then that she was dreaming of when she was younger.</em></p><p>
  <em>The voice of another child came from her side, causing her to turn. Something in her mind told her that this person was male, but she couldn't see his face let alone the color of his hair. She did know that the icy feeling was coming from him. In irritation she raised her small hands and tossed her balls of rieatsu at him, only to watch as they did nothing. The other child complained then. "Bambi-nii! Stop throwing bomb-bombs at me!"</em>
</p><p>"<em>It's Bambi-nee!" She found herself protesting. She felt him suddenly take her hand, causing a cold chill to run up her spine. Normally she would pull away from the cold, but something told her to not let go. A voice suddenly called from inside the building near where they were and the other child let go of her hand, running into the house in a rather excited manner. "Wait! Don't go! If you do..." He was gone from her site and things began shifting. "...the part of the dream I don't like will happen."</em></p><p>
  <em>She found herself looking at Sternritter B, wondering where that someone was. "Hey... Uncle Ju-ju... where's Shiro-nii."</em>
</p><p>"<em>Don't ever mention him again Basterbine."</em></p><p>
  <em>She felt herself swallow. "Why? Where is he?"</em>
</p><p>"<em>Dead."</em></p><p>"<em>Why?"</em></p><p>"<em>Because he isn't a Quincy."</em></p><p>"<em>He's my twin. How can he not be a Quincy? He did better at me at our lessons."</em></p><p>"<em>He could not achieve blunt. He is a failure and thus not needed. Plus, he unlike you was sickly." The man paused. "And don't mention him again. That child is an abomination, twisting Quincy abilities like he did. He's a monster.</em>"</p><p>
  <strong>M</strong>
</p><p>The girl's violet eyes snapped open. "I can't lose and if I win I can't die. I won't end up like him. I won't." She suddenly felt a cane pressing at her forehead and looked up to see an older lady glaring at her. She realized she was now in a warm room with a blanket over her. The old woman glared at her which caused the girl to look away. "Who are you and what do you want?"</p><p>"What I want to know is why a young Quincy caused such a disturbance as you did an hour ago. I want to know why you would disgrace the Quincy blood line by doing what you did, openly using your powers in front of those who know nothing of us or the spirit world. I want to know why you had the audacity to run around naked and then to steal clothes. You are a disgrace."</p><p>"<em>No. I'm not a disgrace. I won't be thrown away like him." </em>Her eyes narrowed and she glared at the woman. "What right have you to tell me what to do you old hag!"</p><p>"I am the lady of the Ishida clan. You are now my ward." The woman went and sat down, crossing her legs as she did so. "You will have my nieces old room. I believe some of her old things from when she was a child should in fact fit you."</p><p>The girl looked at the woman. "You're related to that half-breed, aren't you?"</p><p>The woman looked at her in silence. "My son and I are not on speaking terms due to the circumstances of that child's birth. All you need to know is that child was dead to me before he was even born." The woman picked up a cup of tea. "You say you won't end up like him. Do you speak of his majesty?"</p><p>"His highness?" The girl frowned. "About that. Did the Quincy win? Did his majesty succeed?"</p><p>The woman set down her tea, the cup clinking against the plate. "How is it that you're not aware? We Quincy lost yet another battle with the Shinigami. That happened a week ago." The woman watched as the girl's violet eyes suddenly widened. "You really aren't aware of what happened. Those who survived the battle are locked up in the Shinigami jail cells."</p><p>"That can't be. If that were true I'd be locked up with them. Somehow I'm in the world of the living."</p><p>The woman set her tea down on the table this time. "Exactly who are you?"</p><p>"I am Basterbine Bambietta, Sternritter E... the Explosion." The girl stated.</p><p>"So you're that child." The woman narrowed her eyes, placing her lap. "How you escaped I do not know. I've honestly no news as to who is alive or dead. I do know that the bloodline is decimated even more. I think you understand what this means."</p><p>Bambietta looked at the ground. "No, honestly I do not. I woke up naked and ended up hiding from the police. Somehow I ended up here."</p><p>"I had my butler retrieve you." The woman continued to look at her. "Let me ask again. When you say you don't want to end up like him, who do you mean."</p><p>"<em>Who do I mean?</em>" The girl looked at her lap. "My twin brother."</p><p>"I've not heard of you having a twin brother and I know the bloodlines of the Quincy very well."</p><p>"Then you know of my father and mother?"</p><p>"Nothing much beyond the fact they existed once. What I know of your bloodline record, there is no twin brother."</p><p>"How can that be? He was tossed aside when we were little because he wasn't a real Quincy. He couldn't perform blunt and died."</p><p>"I believe this brother of yours is a figment of your imagination." The old woman repeated what the girl had heard many times in her life. "If you were able to perform blunt naturally then your twin brother should have been able to perform blunt naturally as well."</p><p>The girl looked to the side, frowning as she did. "<em>She's right. Even I didn't begin my Quincy training that young. The dream must have been just that, a dream.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Then where does your want to no be thrown away come from?</em>"</p><p>"<em>I honestly don't know.</em>"</p>
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<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Restless Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Karin arrived back at the place with her father, kicking off her shoes and keeping her hands in her pockets. She looked into the main room and saw that the girls were getting ready to put in a movie. She slipped over to the couch and grabbed a handful of popcorn. Yuzu smiled at her. "How did your work go Karin."</p><p>"Fine." The girl looked at her sister, knowing that her twin was avoiding her own feelings on the matter by diving into being busy. She carefully picked pieces of popcorn out of her palm to eat, wondering how things would in fact go down. She wondered how she could possibly get along with the girls who were around her as she has nothing in common. The movie they were watching was some kind of sappy romance.</p><p>Ino looked up at her suddenly, her legs pulled up to her chest. "Is it bothering you that we're watching romance movies?"</p><p>Karin frowned, not understanding why the girl asked this particular question. "Why would they bother me?"</p><p>"Weren't you hoping to have this kind of relationship with that Toshiro person?"</p><p>"<em>Did I want this kind of relationship with him?</em>" Karin narrowed her eyes. "No."</p><p>"What?" Midoriko looked up. "Every girl wants this kind of relationship!"</p><p>"I never put much thought into it." The room became silent then, the conversation becoming rather uncomfortable. She pulled up a knee and continued munching away at the snacks. Sai choose to pick the next movie which ended up being a horror movie.</p><p>Ino shivered. "Do you have some kind of cult fetish?"</p><p>"You mean occult." Sai shook her head. "No, not really. Having a scary story every so often is fun. I guess I'll explain it that way."</p><p>Karin watched as the guests suddenly screamed at one of the scenes including Sai. Ino and Midoriko clutched each other while Yuzu stared at the screen in horror, nearly dropping the food she held in her arms. Sai though for some reason quickly recovered and began to laugh. She turned to Karin. "Not scary?"</p><p>"I've seen worse." The girl narrowed her eyes. "<em>Like real life monsters.</em>"</p><p>After the movie Midoriko twiddled her fingers. "I need something to make me forget about that movie. How about makeovers?"</p><p>Ino frowned. "Karin doesn't know anything about makeup."</p><p>Sai looked at the other girl. "We could teach you, if you want."</p><p>The darker haired twin sighed. "Look... I already know about makeup. We really should have done that at the beginning of the slumber party. It's not good to sleep in makeup and there is just as much process in cleaning it up as putting it on." She watched as the girls stared at her. "What? Did I say something wrong?"</p><p>Midoriko blinked a couple of times. "When did you learn about makeup?"</p><p>Karin opened her mouth, only to snap it shut. "<em>I learned it from Toshiro. How do I explain that a guy knows how to use makeup of all things.</em>" She found herself looking away, crossing her arms. "Can't we just watch another movie?"</p><p>Ino sighed. "She doesn't want to admit she's never worn makeup."</p><p>Yuzu frowned. "I'm the one whose never worn makeup. Karin and I have never had someone to teach us how to put on makeup, but I saw her wearing makeup when..." The girl's eyes widened. "When Toshiro came around."</p><p>"So you got all dolled up for him. How cute!" Midoriko smiled. "I never thought you had it in you." She clapped her hands together. "I had thought I was seeing things you know, with you wearing more girly clothing and such despite being a tombody. You're coming around."</p><p>Sai frowned. "That look on your face. It wouldn't happen to be because we're talking about Toshiro. Or is it something else."</p><p>"What do you mean?" Karin folded her arms behind her neck.</p><p>"Yuzu said the two of you had no one to teach you, so who taught you."</p><p>The girl looked at the ground, closing her eyes as she did so. "Do I really have to say?"</p><p>Yuzu began to pout. "Karin! If you found somebody to teach you why didn't you get them to teach me?"</p><p>"Because he didn't want people to know that he knew how to do makeup, all right!" The girl's violet eyes widened upon realizing what she had said. She looked away, frowning as she did so. Her arms crossed in front of her chest.</p><p>"Toshiro?" The lighter haired twin. "Karin... why would a guy know how to do makeup."</p><p>" <em>Because Rangiku taught him. How do I explain to them that he learned to do it because she insisted that he know in case of combat injuries? I mean, that's a rather odd thing to say to people and I can't explain hollow. And their relationship. They're fukutaicho and taicho. That, and she had him do her hair, makeup and nails sometimes." </em> Her eyes widened, an idea hitting her. "He learned from his mother."</p><p>"His... mother..." Ino shook his head. "What kind of sissy boy is he?"</p><p>"Toshiro's not a sissy!" Karin snapped. "His mother wanted him to learn so that he could cover up bruises from his martial arts taining as well as bags under his eyes when he stayed up late. She wanted him to look... well, not rag tag.<em>" </em>She took a deep breath. "<em>That was a lie.</em>"</p><p>"<em>No it wasn't. You heard the words Toshiro said. She was like his subordinate. You picked up on the bond between the two. They are mother and child.</em>"</p><p>She found herself continuing. "Plus... it's there way of making up for lost time."</p><p>"You mean was." Sai took a deep breath. "What don't wwe just hit the sack. We really shouldn't be forcing Karin... and Yuzu for that matter... to bring up this subject."</p><p>The futons were pulled out then as well as the extra bed and the girls headed to sleep. Karin couldn't help but look at the ceiling, her thoughts pouring over her. "<em>I could have sworn I felt Toshiro under that bridge.</em>" She closed her eyes trying to remember the last time she had seen Toshiro. It had been shortly after the fullbringer incident. It used to be he wasn't one to smile, but eventually he had warmed up and learned to smile. He had said something to her.</p><p>"<em>I think I'll have something for you the next time I come.</em>"</p><p>"<em>What ever for Toshiro?</em>"</p><p>"<em>I don't know." Karin sighed in frustration at the way his whims worked. They always ended up being interesting, but the puzzles ended up bothering her.</em></p><p>Karin sighed then. "<em>I guess this is one puzzle I won't be able to solve. That so isn't fair Toshiro!</em>" Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath, drifting off to sleep. Things though were not nice as her dreams were a haze. The first part of the dream involved ice all around her and she couldn't make things out. For a brief moment she saw Rangiku's face looking very sad, but then that was gone as well. It was the second part of the dream that ended up being clear and not in the gray tones the other dreams had been in.</p><p>When she opened her eye in the dream she saw a bridge in front of her. To be exact she saw the bridge that she and her father had been under. The city scape was dotted with golden lights across the river and a rain poured down on either side of the bridge. She could also feel cold and naked. What bothered her was that she couldn't look around to confirm it, something she blamed on it being a dream. This wasn't the only thing though.</p><p>She could feel an overwhelming fear coming from herself. No... it wasn't herself that was feeling the fear but someone else. She could also feel a familiar rieatsu, but her mind brushed it away as a part of the dream, something that was trying to torment her because of her wishes for something else other then reality to be true. The rain kept pouring down and there felt like there would be no kind of rescue coming, which added to the fear and yet for some reason the fuddled mind couldn't understand it.</p><p>A motorbike was heard and then she saw a man in the shadows come forward. She saw that the man looked like Ichigo but with black hair instead of orange and blue eyes instead of brown. In some ways she thought this person reminded her of something but she couldn't place it. Or perhaps it was the person she was dreaming the view point from who couldn't remember.</p><p>"Miscalculation," the person said. She then heard the words "There isn't any time for this. Toshiro..." Karin blinked a couple of times. "What did you mean he's dead? Seriously... of all the things not to tell me, that is not one f them. Plus." There came another pause "That's not possible. He's right here in front of me. Miscaculation I need your help." There came another pause and things became hazy, almost blured. She found herself being woken up before the dream had fully ended. Ino was shaking her shoulder.</p><p>"Yuzu made pancakes. I love pancakes."</p><p>Karin sighed and went to the kitchen table and wolfed down her food, hearing Sai say they should get together sometime and go shopping. For some reason the girl had taken more of an interest in her then the other girls and it bothered her. Shaking her head she went up stairs and changed before going to her brothers room. There came no answer when she knocked and she opened the door. "Ichi-nii?"</p><p>She noticed that her brother had slept in his regular clothing rather then changing for the night. "Hey... Ichi-nii, you promised me you know."</p><p>The boy blinked a couple of times. "Yes... I did didn't I." The boy sat up. "Did you get a good night sleep."</p><p>"I think I had a dream of an alternative universe where you saved him." Karin watched as her brother froze.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Well, the guy looked like you but didn't. He had black hair and blue eyes."</p><p>"So, what kind of alternate universe was this?"</p><p>"I think it was one where there was a sci-fi element to it because you kept saying miscalculation."</p><p>"Miscalculation huh. What kind of person was I like?"</p><p>"A punk bachelor."</p><p>"Great." The boy shook his head.</p><p>Karin followed him downstairs, saying goodbye to the girls as she did. "<em>I'd have thought that Toshiro was rescued in this world, but there can't be more then one Ichi-nii</em>."</p><p>
  <em>Note – Karin heard the word "isan" instead of "Isshin"</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Cleaning Up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rangiku remained at the wake for her small taicho the entire time. She saw a lot of people come and pay their respects, but there was one person she had expected to come who in fact hadn't come at all. She wasn't sure whether to be simply angry that Kurosaki Ichigo hadn't come or to be down right insulted. She worked with Nanao to clean up the room and the few items that were left, her throat catching in part because she wanted to cry over how sweet people had been, but on the other hand she wanted to rant about Ichigo's carelessness at not coming.</p><p>Nanao noticed the way she moved. "Is something the matter Rangiku?"</p><p>"You would think that Ichigo would have come, but he hasn't." The woman stuffed another item into her bag.</p><p>"Perhaps he has his reasons."</p><p>"Reasons? I thought he cared about my small taicho! I thought that he thought of my taicho as a younger brother. I thought I could trust him of all people to be here. Even Rukia was here."</p><p>"Rukia is also a fukutaicho of the Gotei Thirteen and would have been expected to come. On top of this she is a member of the Kuchiki family."</p><p>Rangiku stopped. "You know what I meant! He..." The woman closed her eyes as she had not more to pick up. "He should have been here. I don't understand why."</p><p>Nanao sighed, crossing her arms across her chest. "Come on Rangiku. Let's go and get a drink. You've been waiting to cry into a glass of sake all day. It's a wonder you lasted this long."</p><p>The busty female tossed her bag aside and followed after Nanao, a frown on her face as she looked back at the memorial. The amount of things left was staggering. They closed the door for the night and slipped away. The next morning she awoke, her head hurting a bit. Brushing this aside she got up and headed to the division kitchens, barking some orders at the other division members. She carefully set about preparing a meal for two. One of the division members looked at her in a concerned manner. "Matsumoto Fukutaicho... taicho's gone."</p><p>"I know. I'm going to go and visit Ukitake Taicho today. There are some things I need to discuss with him." The woman slipped out and arrived at the first, being told that Ukitake was out by his koi pond. She headed towards the pond and knocked on the door. "I see that you're not feeling well today."</p><p>"It's rather hard to feel well when we've lost such a precious life." Ukitake smiled at her, but she knew it was fake. "That child had such a kind heart and such a wonderful innocence. Come and sit."</p><p>"I made you breakfast." The woman sat down near him.</p><p>"Rangiku, you really didn't need to." The man smiled at her while taking his own bento.</p><p>"I had to. There are some things I need to talk to you that really are things that should be talked about over a meal." Rangiku looked at the ground.</p><p>Ukitake paused. "So you're not just asking me about duties you need to take care of now that he is gone. There is more to this."</p><p>"Yes. I'm not saying I wouldn't turn to you for questions. There..." Rangiku paused. "There is something you need to know. Truth is it is something that will hurt you more, but if you were to find out I didn't tell you I think it would hurt more."</p><p>"If it is that important then do tell me."</p><p>"When I showed up on the battlefield I saw my small taicho's eyes Ukitake." She watched the man suddenly frown, not liking where this was going.</p><p>"They were dead because he had died."</p><p>"That's not..." Rangiku paused. "Seeing his eyes dead like that was painfully. Even more painful was that I realized how much he looks like Gin. I'd been pushing that feeling to the back of my head ever since I first met taicho. After Gin disappeared the feeling kept getting stronger and stronger. I couldn't deny it anymore when I saw him there. Ukitake... how can someone forget their own child like that?"</p><p>Ukitake simply stared at her and she looked away. A smile spread on his face and he reached out his hand to touch Rangiku's. "There are many reasons why people forget things. There are painful memories I want to forget, but at what cost?" The woman looked him in the eye and he continued. "I for example want to forget so badly that this child died and I couldn't do anything to save him. If I forget that he died though what is the cost going to be? My memories of Shiro-chan? I don't want to forget him."</p><p>"It's not fair that I didn't remember until the end. I didn't even get to tell him the truth and now he's gone like Gin."</p><p>The man patted her hand. "What is fair is that child got to die in his mother's arms rather then all alone. It's not much of a consolation, but his worse fear of not belonging, of dying alone. It didn't end up fulfilled, did it." Rangiku smiled despite the fact the tears were coming down. She watched them drip onto the floor while the older man gently held her hand and let her cry.</p><p>He said something else to her. "Thank you too for sharing this with me. It always bothered me that child had no parents. How could someone not love that child?" There came a pause. "Truth of the matter is a lot of the people growing up never gave him a second chance because of his looks, so they never got to learn how loving and kind he was." Ukitake sighed. "I have to also admit I have some inkling that there was some relation to Gin, but never could put my finger on it."</p><p>Rangiku suddenly wiped the tears away from her face. "Feel free to come by the shrine. You're one of the people who asked for it to be left open, aren't you?"</p><p>Ukitake frowned. "I apologize for such a demand being made. Despite the fact I wanted it left open I wasn't the one who requested it. There are a lot of people, particularly in your division that are hurting over this particular loss." He took a deep breath and patted her hand again. "Since you are that child's mother there is something important I need to talk to you about. There is a chance you won't like it, but you do need to know. I'll speak to you about it eventually."</p><p>A knock came on the door and Rukia slid the door open. The female blinked a couple of times. "Matsumoto Fukutaicho?"</p><p>"No need to bring me breakfast today Rukia. When I'm finished I'd like you take the dishes back to the tenth division. For now could you keep Rangiku company back?"</p><p>The female nodded and Rangiku grabbed her own bento knowing she had other things to do. Rukia followed her and suddenly apologized. "I'm sorry Ichigo didn't come yesterday. I'm one of the people who asked if the shrine could be left open, so he could pay his respects. That... and..." The small female paused. "... I don't think one visit will be enough for him even after his minds no longer muddled."</p><p>"Rukia... it bothered me that Ichigo didn't come. Do you know why?"</p><p>"He's blaming himself for one thing. For another he's still trying to wrap his head around the fact Hitsugaya Taicho is gone. But that isn't it." Rukia took a deep breath. "There is already talk about Ichigo replacing Hitsugaya Taicho in your division."</p><p>"I'd rather it be him then anyone else. Taicho would rather it be him despite the fact he was still under the belief that our previous taicho was coming back." Rangiku looked forward.</p><p>"Right there is the problem. Ichigo doesn't <em>want</em> to replace Hitsugaya Taicho anymore then I wanted to replace Kaien-dono. Some of the captains are already talking about it."</p><p>"Does this include Ukitake?" Rangiku felt almost betrayed for a brief while.</p><p>"They discussions he and Kyoraku have had have been about the comments others have been making. That, and I asked my taicho privately about the matter. Or I tried to. He was rather closed lip about the matter except for the fact he feels it isn't fair to make Ichigo take the position just yet. Which means that he does expect Ichigo to take the role as well. Even my brother thinks so. For some reason he thinks the Shiba clan should force him to take the position. I don't understand why."</p><p>Rangiku paused. "It's complicated Rukia." They arrived at the division and stepped into the offices where Rangiku set her bento dish onto one of the desks. Her hand traced the desk carefully, glad that their world had reappeared after the Quincy king had been defeated. This unfortunately left a lot of memories to deal with. "I guess it's time to clean out his things."</p><p>"You mean Hitsugaya Taicho?" Rukia's voice strained.</p><p>"Yes. Sadly I do."</p><p>"I could help."</p><p>"No. I want to do this myself." Rangiku looked at the desk, her head then darting up. "You could though get me some boxes. Have some delivered to the captain's quarters too."</p><p>"Are you really sure about getting rid of his things before a new captain is to come in?"</p><p>"I'm not getting rid of them. I'm keeping them. Well, most of it. There is likely a few things that I think taicho would want certain people to have, so I need to make sure they get to those people as well."</p><p>"Thank you for letting me help even this much."</p><p>Rangiku sat down at the desk and carefully opened up the bottom drawer. There was a sketchbook in the drawer as well as other items like his collection of rocks. The smell of the division flower caused her to pause when she opened the top drawer. Curiosity got the better of her and she carefully pulled the papers out to see that her small taicho had take the time to dry and press the division flower to a particular envelope.</p><p>She stopped short upon seeing the name listed on the front in nice, neat calligraphy. "<em>Karin... what would he have...</em>" She slipped the paper out of the envelope and saw more flowers pressed to the paper. Her eyes scanned the letter.</p><p>"<em>I've been thinking a lot lately about our friendship. I'm honestly not good with words particularly when it comes to my feelings, so I finally settled on paper to put them down. I apologize for the flowers as I know it isn't your kind of thing. It felt appropriate due to what I have to say as well as the fact this is my division flower. To be honest I'm not sure about my own feelings. It feels like more then friendship, but I'm not sure as I've never really had friends. I do want you to know how thankful I am for being able to have you as a friend. It's not something I want to lose.</em>"</p><p>The letter was then signed. Rangiku closed her eyes. "Oh taicho."</p><p>"<em>He came so close to confessing, didn't he?</em>"</p><p>"<em>It really isn't fair Haineko. And I'm not sure whether to call this close or not. He could mean sibling like friendship as well. Him coming close to confessing... that may just be my wishful feelings on this.</em>"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Paying Respect</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Karin fingered the pass she had been given in her fingers, her mouth pushing together as she followed her brother. It would finally be her first time in soul society, the first time she got to see where Toshiro in fact lived. Except he wouldn't be there like she had wanted and instead she was visiting to pay her respects. The whole thing honestly felt so wrong and she wished that everything could suddenly be made right.</p><p>She watched as her brother paused for a second. "Hold on. I need to get him."</p><p>She turned her head to watch her brother disappear into his room from the outside only to come out with Yuzu's stuffed bear. The toy was yelling only to be gagged as her brother reached his fingers in, plucking a small green ball from the toy causing it go limp. He then pushed it into his mouth after wiping it off and popped out of his body. He turned to the person. "You behave. You know the rules."</p><p>"You don't have to..." The fake Ichigo suddenly looked at Karin. "Wait? What's she doing here?"</p><p>Ichigo looked away in annoyance, his eyes dulled over. Karin took a deep breath. "Ichi-nii's taking me to pay my respects to Toshiro."</p><p>"That little brat?" The fake Ichigo folded his arms in annoyance, only to receive a quick kick from the girl.</p><p>Ichigo grabbed her shoulder, his eyes dulled over. "Hey... that is still my body you know. I have to deal with any damage that occurs to it when I get back."</p><p>"Sorry..." Karin glared at the fake Ichigo only to spin on her heals and follow her brother in his Shinigami robes. They arrived at Urahara's shop. "What are we doing here?"</p><p>"I can't open gates like Rukia can. So I need him to open a gate for me."</p><p>The girl let out an irritated sound as she followed her brother into the shop. The man snapped his fan. "Going back so soon to Soul Society Ichigo after paying your respects to Hitsugaya Taicho?" The man paused. "You did pay your respects, didn't you?"</p><p>"I'm taking Karin and we're doing it together." Ichigo would have normally gotten cocky with the man but instead simply looked straight forward, rather emotionless.</p><p>Urahara stood up and went digging through his things before tossing a phone at Ichigo. "Here. You'll need this."</p><p>"What is this for?"</p><p>"Regular phones don't work in Soul Society." The answer was simple for the man but Ichigo decided to leave things at that. "I'll send word for you and get the gate ready as soon as they've got the passage way stabilized." The man got up and left, leaving the two siblings standing there.</p><p>"Going to Soul Society is a complicated process, isn't it."</p><p>"There are a lot of rules as well."</p><p>A few minutes later Urahara came back, a smile on his face. "You're all set to go!"</p><p>Karin watched as a door opened and her brother took hold of her wrist in a protective manner. Her brother didn't look down at her and simply looked forward. They started walking and Karin felt a shiver run down her spine as the walls slowly oozed. They finally arrived at the glowing end and stepped through. Karin's eyes widened to see an entire world that looked like feudal Japan. Her brother let go of her wrist in time for Rukia to glomp her. "Karin-chan! What are you doing here?"</p><p>Karin hugged the female back. "Hi Rukia-nee. I'm here to pay my respects to Toshiro."</p><p>"To To..." Rukia pulled black blinking a couple of times. "Hitsugaya Taicho?" The female had a look of confusion on her face. She flinched suddenly, turning her eyes to glare at Ichigo. "You..."</p><p>"What?" Ichigo frowned, looking at her in confusion. "It's really their business."</p><p>"I'm not talking about that! I'm talking about the fact you didn't show up at the wake yesterday! Matsumoto Fukutaicho was upset that you didn't show up. She wasn't the only one! I mean, I expected you of all people to be there paying your respects. I had to make up some kind of lie about how you blame yourself and don't like the fact everyone wants you to take the position of the tenth division captain! I mean, it could be true... but still!"</p><p>"Well... it is true." The orange haired teen frowned at her while she simply stared at him. The female let out an irritated sound before motioning the two to follow them. They walked for awhile until they got to the tenth where the division members greeted Ichigo when they saw them and he came a halfhearted wave back accompanied by a halfhearted smile. Rukia rolled her eyes. "I wonder why people want you to replace him, what with how chummy you've gotten with the division members."</p><p>Ichigo flinched at her comment. "Hey... wasn't that a little uncalled for?"</p><p>Karin watched the two and noticed that they were at a small building. Rukia opened up the doors and they slipped in. "This is the tenth division meeting hall, though they haven't been using it for that since... well, since they placed the shrine in here."</p><p>The younger Kurosaki sibling swallowed as she looked towards the front of the room, noticing the massive shrine. It wasn't that the shrine was simply massive. She kind of expected that as he was a taicho. What she hadn't expected as the items surrounding the shrine. There were flowers and toys... toys she never imagined Toshiro touching with a ten foot pool. She let out a deep sigh. "<em>I wonder what he would think of all of this.</em>"</p><p>Ichigo took one look and stepped out of the room. "I really couldn't handle this. He shouldn't have died."</p><p>Karin took a deep breath. "We didn't bring anything."</p><p>Rukia frowned. "Don't worry about it. The fact you're here, that your brother was able to get this far into the room." The older girl let out a sigh. "Who am I kidding. Ichigo's not going to recover from this any time soon. We were victorious, but we ended up losing so much."</p><p>Karin turned her head to the girl, only to look away. She suddenly felt ashamed of the fact she wasn't able to cry. It then hit her, something strong. "I still don't believe that he's dead."</p><p>The other girl sighed. "Karin... I know you don't want to believe that he is dead."</p><p>"I can't. Rukia-nee, I really can't believe the he is dead." Karin looked at the ground, her guilt growing.</p><p>"What do you mean you you don't believe that he is dead?" A female voice came from the door, causing both girls to turn.</p><p>Rukia looked the person right in the eye. "Matsumoto Fukutaicho."</p><p>Karin's mouth moved without her realizing it, her feelings coming out without realizing it. "How can you not know he's not dead? You're his mother."</p><p>A silence suddenly fell over the room. Ichigo had been standing outside the doorway and turned his head slightly, his eyes showing that he was shocked that Karin had said what she said. He moved out of his stance of standing there with his arms crossed. "Rangiku-san. I'm sorry. Karin imagined that she felt Toshiro's reiatsu the other day. After he died."</p><p>Rangiku took a deep breath, but the pain in her eyes were evident. "Hey, Karin-chan? Can you and I talk for a bit? This is your first time in Soul Society. Why don't I show you where taicho used to work?"</p><p>The girl blinked a couple of times. She moved slowly to follow the girl and Ichigo tagged along. When they got to the offices Ichigo stopped outside, letting them go in. "I'm not exactly comfortable going in."</p><p>"That's all right. I need to talk to your sister privately." The woman slipped into the office.</p><p>Karin looked at the ground. "I'm sorry. Ichigo was right. I crossed the line."</p><p>The woman walked over to the window, her arms crossed. "Karin... how did you know?"</p><p>"What do you mean?" She blinked a couple of times.</p><p>"You said I should know because I'm his mother."</p><p>"<em>Does she mean she knows he's alive, or does she mean that she's his mother. She's got to mean the second as she would be out looking for him if she thought he was alive. This said, how did I know she was his mother." </em>The girl looked at the ground thinking about it carefully. "When I first met you Toshiro said that you were kind of like his subordinate."</p><p>"He said that because he still feels..." The woman paused. "Taicho thought his taicho would come back and that he was just taking care of things."</p><p>"I just... had a feeling." Karin looked at the ground. "I get a lot of feelings." She felt her hands clench her pants. "Are you sure he's dead? Can't you feel he's still alive?"</p><p>Rangiku's eyes narrowed. "I know how you feel. Deep down I have this feeling he's alive, but... I think it's just me feeling guilty. Guilty for not realizing sooner. For not being able to tell him. Guilty for not being more of a mother." The woman paused. "He died in my arms Karin. My eyes say one thing, my heart another. You know how I feel, right?"</p><p>"Yes..." Karin turned her head away, leaning against the door.</p><p>She watched as Rangiku walked over to the desk in the room. "I have something for you. You don't need to read it now, but when you're ready."</p><p>Karin looked down at the envelope in her hands with the flowers. "<em>So this was the gift that Toshiro meant? It's a rather strange gift, but so like Toshiro.</em>" She held the envelope close to her chest. "Thank you."</p><p>Rangiku walked out of the room. "Do you want to see the captain's quarters?"</p><p>The girl blinked a couple of times. "Why?"</p><p>"I'd like the company. Plus, it means I can spend some time with you." The woman headed to the door, noticing that Ichigo was standing in the doorway. The teen looked up, a rather gloomy look on his face. "You coming Ichigo?" The boy sighed, following after them dressed in his Shinigami robes. They arrived at the quarters and Rangiku slid the door open. "Do you like reading Ichigo?"</p><p>"Yes... "</p><p>"I'd like you to have taicho's books then." The woman walked into the room, turning to see the look on his face. The look strengthened upon seeing the number of books. "Something the matter?"</p><p>"Rangiku-san... should you be giving Toshiro's things like this?"</p><p>"I'm not a reader. Taicho would want them to be read."</p><p>Ichigo took a deep breath. "There are a lot of them." He and Karin looked around the room while he flinched. "I'm not exactly comfortable with this. Aren't there other people you know who read? I mean, this many..."</p><p>Rangiku ran a hand through her hair, pouting as she did so. "I do know of other Shinigami that read. I really don't want the collection to be broken apart though. Taicho doesn't have many things."</p><p>Karin blinked a couple of times. "<em>You call this not many things?</em>"</p><p>Ichigo sighed. "This looks like a lot of stuff. I mean, there has to be well over a hundred to two hundred books here, all of them classical literature... if not more."</p><p>"Practically everything that is in this room belonged to the previous taicho." The woman folded her arms and looked away. "Taicho could make... could have made this room his own, but instead he kept everything. Everything that was originally his I'm still going through. But this stuff... I know you don't want to be the next taicho, but I'd rather you have it then some stranger."</p><p>"The previous taicho?" There was a change in Ichigo's demeanor, something that surprised Karin. "All right. I got it. You don't want Toshiro's feelings for his former taicho stomped on, so you've intrusted them to me."</p><p>"Yes." Rangiku smiled. "Thank you so much for understanding."</p><p>Karin looked around the room, not at all sure what to think about the situation. It was as if there missing pieces to a puzzle. Ichigo's face fell, when suddenly a voice was heard from outside. "Yo! Ichigo!"</p><p>"Kukaku-san?"</p><p>"We need to talk. I'm glad that you're here today, all though I was disappointed you didn't make it to the funeral."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Watching and Waiting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The lights in Toshiro's room were dimmed while the boy lay there in the comatose state. Kaien's hands folded together as he leaned forward with his elbows against his knees. Everything was quiet as he sat there patiently waiting for the boy to wake up from his slumber, his mind drifting to whether the boy would ever wake up in a constant manner. There was a fear that played at the back of his mind that Toshiro would in fact not wake up, but there was also the hope that the child would in fact wake up.</p><p>He also thought about how he would explain things to Toshiro when he woke up, let alone what Toshiro would and wouldn't remember. Sighing he leaned back so that he looked up at the ceiling, swallowing as he did so and closing his eyes. A voice caused him to open his eyes back up. "You're different from Isshin. If I were to place your personality I'd say that your personality is more like your nephew's then your brothers. I guess I understand now why Isshin says that his son isn't like himself despite the fact there are similarities."</p><p>Kaien's head darted up. "I have an honest question for you. Do you have an issue with my taking care of Toshiro, being his father considering the fact he is a hybrid of our kinds and I am just a Shinigami, the enemy of you Quincy so to speak?"</p><p>Ryuken looked at the boy without saying anything for awhile. He then leaned against the wall, folding his arms across his chest. "And who exactly would raise him? If I were to take him in my mother would find out about him and insist on raising him to her standards as would the vast majority of the Quincy left who had reason not to fight in the war that just happened. Despite what my son thinks I actually do hold with my father's way of thinking."</p><p>The man paused, turning his head to see that Kaien was staring at him with a blank look on his face. "Yes... you and your nephew are a lot alike. Instead of telling someone you don't understand you give them annoyed looks that insist that they explain things better. Almost as if you think the person explaining things is being dumb in the way they explain things."</p><p>"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Kaien's reiatsu bristled.</p><p>"If it was coming from my son it would be. He doesn't understand why his cousin simply doesn't just get things, but in reality it is because they think of things in different manners. If someone were to tell Ichigo that things don't make sense he would in fact try finding another way to explain things or say he's not sure how to explain it and that it just makes sense." The man looked at the boy. "I don't have issue with you raising the child. You and Isshin honestly share the same beliefs as my father and myself."</p><p>"What about your son?"</p><p>"My son is a fool. As much as I love him he is a fool. Making top grades in your classes is no true indicator of how smart a person really is unless said person is a child genius."</p><p>"And then we have our quirks and tend to act like idiots around people as our minds work differently then other people."</p><p>Ryuken turned to look at him. "Are your speaking of yourself or the boy?"</p><p>"Both. Isshin as well as Ichimaru Gin as well. People never believed that Isshin graduated from the academy early like I did. I can't blame them."</p><p>"I figured as much. One of the things that annoys me about your brother is the fact he enjoys playing the part of the fool."</p><p>"He had to. When our father died he made it his job to make our younger siblings laugh despite the fact we were all feeling sad while I took on the role of nurturer." Kaien frowned. "It isn't normal for a father to think his child a fool."</p><p>"My son thought he could solve things by throwing his life away."</p><p>"Is he dead?"</p><p>"No, thankfully. He was willing to sacrifice everything though in an attempt to play double agent among the Quincy's only to find himself in a position where he could do nothing and Ichigo had to rescue him from his own foolishness." Ryuken closed his eyes. "Truth be told I'm angry with him because he knows that this mess is what killed his mother and Masaki when he and Ichigo were younger."</p><p>"He may have known this fact, but that doesn't mean he would have figured out that you were worried about losing him as well as your wife." Kaien's tension released. "Truth be told I'm not sure I would understand without you telling me if I hadn't also lost my wife and know how it is to worry about losing ones child."</p><p>"That's the other reason I can't argue against you raising the boy. Despite not being blood related you care about him." The man then paused. "There is also the fact you're family through Isshin. My mother wouldn't see it this way, but my father would have."</p><p>"Do you have any books on Quincy that I could read?"</p><p>Ryuken's eyes widened. "What ever for?"</p><p>"I know about Toshiro's Shinigami side but I know nothing about his Quincy side. He may have questions once he wakes up and I want to be able to answer them."</p><p>"I have some books in my office. I honestly can't remember which ones they are, but I'll go and get them for you to read." The man slipped out of the room and came back after a period of time with the books, setting them down onto the table next to them. "I need to get back to my rounds. This said, if you need anything there is a phone down here in my office that you can get a hold of me. Be sure to get some sleep. You've been up all night."</p><p>Ryuken turned on the light to the room. Kaien frowned. "Is there a reason for turning the light on and off?"</p><p>"Despite the fact he is in a comatose state he can still be effected by outside stimulus. The act of turning the lights on and off is to stimulate night time and day time so that the patient is able to acclimate towards a regular schedule once they come out of a comatose state."</p><p>Kaien slipped the book with gold trimming from the middle of the stack to begin reading the book, pausing as he opened to the front page. He swallowed as he noticed what the content of the book was and began to flip through the book until he found what he wanted and began to read, swallowing a few times as he read the details. He went back and re-read the details a few times over. A knock came on the doorway causing him to look up.</p><p>"I'm here to take you to breakfast as we didn't have any leftovers. Yuzu actually didn't make dinner as the girls had a sleepover."</p><p>"You let them have a sleepover? I thought you always said no because you were concerned about their friends finding out about the whole ghost issue."</p><p>"Apparently I said yes a week ago when I was rather out of it." Isshin kept trying to put on a fake smile, only to have it falter upon seeing the look on his brother's face. "What are you reading?"</p><p>"Your friend gave me some books to read. This one is the book that contains Hyorinmaru's symbol."</p><p>"Did he give you that book on purpose?" The older twin's face suddenly paled.</p><p>"No. He didn't know which books he was giving me, just grabbed some from his office."</p><p>"I can believe that." Isshin looked at the stack of books on the table. "Let's go to breakfast. Bring that book second from the top."</p><p>"I'm not really hungry."</p><p>"That's because you're in one of your dark moods! You always avoided eating unless someone got you too! Plus... we need to talk. Not around Toshiro though."</p><p>Kaien looked at the wall. "Your friend said something about outside stimulus."</p><p>"Yeah. A comma patient can pick up thinks around them. That's why people talk to them, read to them, play music. Let's talk about this though. Bring that other book with us."</p><p>The younger twin let out a sigh. "Fine." His hand reached out for the book and he stepped out, pausing to look at the boy. Tucking the book under his arm he walked back over and brushed a strand of the boy's hair away from his forehead. "Wake up Toshiro. We're waiting for you."</p><p>The two arrived at the family restaurant and sat down and gave their orders. Isshin tapped the book that Kaien had set on the table and told him to turn to a page. "The book is a manual on Quincy abilities."</p><p>The younger twin let out a sigh and opened up the book and read about blunt then shook his head. "Why did you want me to read this? Actually, shouldn't I be asking you a question about Toshiro being related to the person they consider to be their king?"</p><p>"A king that doesn't care about killing off their kin." Isshin responded. "That isn't the point I want to talk to you about."</p><p>Kaien watched as his brother began to stack coffee creamers. "And the point."</p><p>"Wasn't there an interesting detail about blunt?"</p><p>The other man frowned. "You mean the fact that full blood Quincy can learn it naturally but those that are not have to be trained?"</p><p>Isshin placed another cup of creamer on top of the others. "What if I were to tell you that Ichigo was able to learn blunt naturally?"</p><p>"I would assume that he was a full blood Quincy. He isn't though." Kaien shook his head. "Plus, Toshiro can't use blunt." He stared at his brother as he spouted off even more pages for him to read. Kaien read through at first in a skeptical manner but went back and reread the description. I don't get it."</p><p>"Rokui Hyoketsujin. You're familiar with that attack of Toshiro's?"</p><p>"You mean the pentagon shaped... wait. This attack called Sprenger. Come on Isshin."</p><p>"All of Toshiro's abilities with his zampaktuo is equivalent to a Quincy ability."</p><p>Kaien tapped his finger. "Isshin..."</p><p>"You read that poem about his majesty. A thousand years sounds odd."</p><p>"And?"</p><p>Isshin looked up. "It has a connection to Toshiro."</p><p>"Toshiro wasn't alive a thousand years ago."</p><p>The older twin blinked a couple of times. "I forgot. You don't know squat about Toshiro's bankai or the fact there is an attack that is supposed to freeze for a thousand years."</p><p>"How would Toshiro even know something like that?" Kaien looked at his brother. "This is something you'd rather not tell me, isn't it?"</p><p>"Yes. It is. Perhaps later."</p><p>"What did you want to talk to me about?"</p><p>Isshin paused, thinking whether he should tell Kaien about Karin. "Never mind. In reality I just..." The man paused. "Truth be told I couldn't stand being around the girls today."</p><p>"Because they're growing up?" Kaien folded his arms across his chest.</p><p>"No. Karin and Yuzu met Toshiro and Ichigo told them that Toshiro's dead."</p><p>"He isn't."</p><p>"As far as everyone else is concerned he is." Isshin stirred his coffee. "Karin knows he isn't dead."</p><p>Kaien stared at his brother. "Is this some kind of joke."</p><p>"No. I'm not sure how to explain it. I believe she sensed Toshiro last night around the same time you did. She had to go out looking for him and went straight for that bridge."</p><p>"Damn." Kaien shook his head.</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Shiba Family Matters</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Yo! Ichigo!" The voice of an older woman caused the two Kurosaki children to jump. Karin's eyes were wide as she looked at the dark haired woman behind her brother while Ichigo tensed up.</p><p>"Kukaku-san?" The orange haired teens voice strained.</p><p>"We need to talk. I'm glad that you're here today, all though I was disappointed you didn't make it to the funeral." The woman smiled at him in a cheerful manner. Ichigo moved slightly from foot to foot in a nervous manner before following her out of the room.</p><p>"I really am sorry about not showing up Kukaku-san." The Kurosaki male followed her to another room. She slid open the door and plopped down on the pillows.</p><p>"Close the door after you come in." The woman watched as Ichigo complied and waited until he sat down before speaking again. "I'm actually not surprised. When I first met you I thought you were more like your old man, but in reality you're more like him."</p><p>Ichigo blinked a couple of times. "I'm not following."</p><p>"What? Isshin didn't tell you?" Kukaku's facial features twisted up. "Your father is a real piece of work."</p><p>"If you're taking about his relation to the Shiba clan... he told me that." Ichigo leaned back on his arms. "... though he didn't tell me what kind of blood relation it is. You said I'm more like him then my dad."</p><p>The woman frowned. She then let out a sigh and leaned back herself looking up at the ceiling. "So he remained vague about the whole thing. Typical." She sat up with a smirk on her face. "Isshin is my eldest brother."</p><p>Ichigo blinked a couple of times. "I thought you only had two brothers. Rukia didn't kill dad. In fact, she didn't even recognize him as a Shiba."</p><p>"A lot of people thought I only had two brothers. We did after all have a set of identical twins in the Shiba clan." Kukaku let out a laugh. "Imagine Rukia trying to apologize to Isshin for killing his twin brother."</p><p>The teen cleared his throat. "I have a feeling that you didn't want to talk to me about this, but instead something else."</p><p>"I think I'll start back with the fact you didn't show up at the funeral."</p><p>Ichigo's body tensed up. "Karin chewed me out about that as well. Actually... she chewed me out because I caused her to miss Toshiro's funeral as well." The boy took a deep breath. "Does Karin look like you did at that age?"</p><p>Kukaku blinked a couple of times before smiling quickly. "I honestly don't know. Your father is likely to know that answer."</p><p>"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to call you. Calling you Aunt Kuraku kind of feels weird." Ichigo looked the woman in the eye. "It is all right if the girls call you Aunt Kuraku, right."</p><p>"Yes. Once I get to officially introduce myself to them." Kukaku's face twisted into a frown. "Now for what I need to talk to you about. Have you already heard that the Shiba clan wants you to take over as captain of the tenth division."</p><p>"Yeah... I've heard it and I don't like it. It's too soon to be talking about this whole matter."</p><p>"You do realize that the reason they wish for you to take over isn't just because you are captain level. They don't just wish for you to take over the tenth division, but also take over the headship of the Shiba clan." Kukaku watched as he remained silent. "You don't feel right about this."</p><p>"Toshiro worked for the position of captain." Ichigo frowned. "I also don't know about any of these duties a captain has to take care of, or the duties of the Shiba clan. I think I'd handle taking over as head of the Shiba clan better then I'd handle taking over as the head of the tenth division."</p><p>"The problem here is that being captain of the tenth division and being head of the Shiba clan goes hand in hand. It has always been the tradition of the tenth division to be handed down through the Shiba clan bloodline."</p><p>"Toshiro wasn't a member of the Shiba clan though."</p><p>"Kaien was expected to take over the Shiba clan when your father disappeared as well as become the captain of the tenth division. He and his wife both ended up dying before he could take over. They couldn't have children, so they decided to adopt Toshiro. Toshiro didn't know about this fact because Kaien and his wife were never able to tell him about the adoption."</p><p>"I don't understand. Wouldn't they need Toshiro's permission?"</p><p>"No. They simply needed his granny's permission as well as approval from other noble clans."</p><p>"They could have at least told Toshiro."</p><p>"The process is long and tedious. Adopting a child from the Rukongai is frowned upon. They didn't want Toshiro to get his hopes up while the adoption process was going on."</p><p>"Toshiro may not have wanted this."</p><p>Kukaku became silent. After a few minutes she spoke up again. "He may very well have been holding out that his real parents would show up one day. Truth be told that was something my brother and... your uncle and aunt... had discussed. They didn't care."</p><p>"So they were being self-centered about this?" Ichigo folded his arms across his chest.</p><p>"No. By don't care I don't mean that. Kaien's feelings towards Toshiro honestly are quite similar to yours." Kukaku's fingers fidgeted as she had no pipe in her fingers. "They didn't care if his parents did show up eventually. Finding ones family after one dies is extremely rare. Should Toshiro have been that lucky... they would not have begrudged him. They knew full well their place. They also saw a child hurting because he didn't have the parents he wanted."</p><p>Ichigo swallowed. "I'm sorry for making assumptions Ku..." The boy scratched his head. "What am I supposed to call you?"</p><p>"Call me what you want Ichigo." The woman took a deep breath.</p><p>"Won't me calling you Aunt Kukaku make you feel old?" Ichigo watched as the corner of the woman's mouth twitch. "See! It feels weird to call you that because you don't look old enough to be my Aunt."</p><p>"Ichigo..." The corner of Kukaku's mouth twitched. "If it feels that weird to you then don't call me that. I don't have a problem with it as you're calling me oba-chan instead of oba-san which made me not feel old. Until you had to mouth off like that."</p><p>An orange head of hair bowed low to the ground. "My appologies!"</p><p>"You're so much like him and not your father." Kukaku sighed.</p><p>Ichigo sat up. "One thing that is bothering me. Toshiro never mentioned being the head of the Shiba clan."</p><p>"This is because Toshiro never knew he was the head let alone adopted into the Shiba clan. The elders of the Shiba clan wanted him to take over then and there, but I wouldn't have it. I told them I would act as adjunct head until he was old enough." Kukaku paused for a few seconds. "This is what I want to talk about. You need time to adjust to the change. You also need time to be trained for the position."</p><p>"You're saying you'll act as adjunct head? That doesn't take care of the problem with the captaincy position."</p><p>"Uncle Shunsui and Uncle Jushiro have that already taken care of. While you have all the prerequisites for becoming a captain you still have no formal training." Kukaku held up three fingers. "I can give you just over three years at least to transition into the position. The exact time is the time it would take to graduate high school as well as college. Another three years if your choice is to take on a medical degree or another degree that takes three years. Add to this the time you need to spend with instructors in the academy. That makes seven years."</p><p>Ichigo frowned. "First off... it seems as if you've assumed that I would wish to pursue a medical degree in the world of the living. That also only gives me a year at the academy."</p><p>"I know my family Ichigo. What kind of career would you have picked had you not gotten Shinigami powers? You care about helping people. So it would have been medical or judicial. You could have become a cop, but as a Shiba you would have been interested in the intellectual side of things. You wouldn't want to be a lawyer because you would have to deal with idiots." The woman folded her arms. "The other choice you would have made would have been to be a teacher."</p><p>"I want to be a Shinigami, but you're right in the fact those would have been my career choices Kukaku-san." Ichigo placed a hand on his chin. "Ku-chan..."</p><p>"Excuse me?"</p><p>"If I call you Ku-chan I feel like I'm still respecting you as a peer, but also as my aunt."</p><p>Kukaku let out a laugh. "All right. What ever floats your boat. The other reason for the time frame is because that is how long it will take your sisters to graduate high school. This means your <em>father</em> can take his old job back without shoving it on you."</p><p>"He may want to wait until the girls graduate college."</p><p>"Karin seems to be headed the way of the Shinigami as well and seems to be able to take care of herself. From what I've heard about your other sister she'll be marrying instead of going to college. If she did decide to go to college it is time for Isshin to let go of the apron strings on those girls. Plus... as they are members of the Shiba clan it stands to reason that he won't be the only ones looking out for their safety. Once the girls graduate the elders will be pushing for Isshin to come home."</p><p>Ichigo took a deep breath. "You thought of this carefully then."</p><p>"Yes. Not a word to anyone though. Not even about being a member of the Shiba clan. You already have the elders of the clan wanting to take advantage of you in hopes of our clan reestablishing. You being trained for the headship by myself can start that process under way. Even as a captain in training you can give orders as you see fit."</p><p>"I don't know the duties though. Well, except for paperwork. I helped Toshiro a few times."</p><p>"One of the jobs the Shiba clan used to take on was to keep an eye out for children like Toshiro in the Rukongai and make sure they have a place in this society."</p><p>"You're wanting me to give the order to have the process of looking for children who need help to start occurring again?"</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>Ichigo looked at the ground. "Would these children end up in the academy like Toshiro?"</p><p>Kukaku let out a sigh. "At this point the only other option for them is being adopted into a noble family. Hopefully though this will change. You have the power to change it."</p><p>"Let me make something clear." Ichigo placed his hands on his knees. "I honestly do not want to take over at this point. I'm untrained. I don't feel comfortable replacing Toshiro and the fact the familial feeling I have for him in fact has some actual basis makes in even more uncomfortable for me." The teen swallowed. "I think though one of the best ways to acknowledge his memory is to start helping other children."</p><p>"I'll pass the word onto the elders then."</p><p>"I need to go and get my sister. She needs to back to the world of the living for school."</p><p>"Say hello to your father for me. Tell him I say he's a complete louse as well."</p><p>Ichigo chuckled. "I will Ku-chan. It may be awhile as I am going to be going through Toshiro's books. Rangiku insisted I have them. She says they used to belong to father."</p><p>"What about school?"</p><p>"I'll have Karin pass on the message that I'm taking care of some things because someone has passed. I feel like I need to do this though. Running away from his death is wrong. I shouldn't have skipped out on the funeral and for that I owe some people apologies."</p><p>"You have grown up a lot in the last year or so."</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Crashed Depression</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em> left things out?</em>"</p><p>"<em>Your brother started keeping things from you the day he decided to disappear. He told his fukutaicho and third seat where he was going, but not me and Miyako.</em>"</p><p>"<em>You and Miyako were worried about the fact you couldn't have children and the adoption. You were spending less and less time with him and more with her. It is only logical that he would have found someone like you did. Not to mention here the fact not being around him caused him to be bored, which in turned caused him to act out.</em>"</p><p>"<em>He's got no business acting like the adult in this relationship when I was the one always babysitting his ass.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Is he really acting differently then he did before? He's always been protective of you and you know that. The only real difference between then and now is his maturity level. Separating from you and Miyako forced him to grow up.</em>"</p><p>"<em>This isn't how it feels. It feels like he's treating me like Ku-chan and Ganju. I don't need to be coddled or babied.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Kaien... he's not trying to coddle you. Perhaps he just doesn't know how to react and say things to you anymore. For you there was no separation, but for him there was.</em>"</p><p>"<em>No separation? That's..."</em></p><p>"<em>I'm not talking about 'not' seeing each other. You know I'm not.</em>"</p><p>Kaien let out a sigh as he unlocked the door to his home. He took the time to shower and change before taking the time to toss some clothes onto the counter along with the book he had taken with him. He locked the door and got onto his bike to drive back to the hospital. He stopped short when he heard the sound of a female voice shouting at someone as said female came closer. The voice came from the other side of the wall that separated his house from the neighbors.</p><p>Upon looking up he saw two hands gripping the top of the wall. "Not..." The next thing he saw was the bottom of a sneaker coming towards his face as a young female swung over the top of the wall as well as a flash of a girl's underwear. "Hey!"</p><p>The vocal reaction from him didn't prevent the foot from making contact with his face. This in turn caused his body to lurch to the side which in turn brought his bike down on top of him. He found himself on the ground with both his bike and the girl on top of him. The violet haired girl sat on top of his left shoulder and placed a finger to her lips as she made a sound indicating she wanted him to be quiet. The sound of a couple male voices came from the other side. Kaien let out a groan. "Get off of me!"</p><p>The girl scuttled back. "Shush Shiba Sensei! I don't wish to be caught!"</p><p>Kaien pushed his bike off himself and stood it back up while he glared at the girl. Her golden eyes were wide with nervous anticipation. "What kind of trouble have you gotten into this time? Aren't you supposed to be a senior in high school now?"</p><p>"Seriously! Shush!"</p><p>"You're being louder then I am." Kaien rubbed his head and closed his eyes. "<em>The neighbor girl strikes again. I'm going to have a black eye at work again. Why is she always getting into trouble like this?</em>"</p><p>"<em>I think she has this innate ability to attract trouble.</em>"</p><p>"There she is!"</p><p>Kaien twisted his head around to look at the two male high school students standing in front of his driveway. The man's muscles tightened up at seeing the two students and the corner of his mouth twitched. He bent his arms so that he could crack his knuckles in a threatening manner. "So... why are you after her?"</p><p>"That girl flashed us and called us a bunch of perverts!"</p><p>"It's not our fault she was walking on the wall!"</p><p>"<em>She did in fact strike again. Of all the things I needed today...</em>" Kaien took a deep breath. "First question... did she walk past you while walking on the wall or did you walk up and play peeping tom?" He watched the two boys look at each other sheepishly. "Second question... did you two verbally describe what she was wearing?" The two boys began to fidget and Kaien cracked his knuckles again. "I suggest leaving... now."</p><p>He watched as the two boys took off and turned to look at the girl in question. She placed a hand on the back of her head while grinning at him. "Thanks for helping me out again Shiba Sensei."</p><p>Kaien reached down and grabbed her ear. He pulled her up from the ground. "I don't think you should be thanking me just yet. We're going to go and have a talk... another talk with your parents."</p><p>"Ow! They're not even home. They're both at work. And what did I do wrong. As you said, they purposefully snuck a look at my panties and even described them."</p><p>"The word is sneaked and I've told you not to be walking along walls wearing a skirt."</p><p>"It's not as if my parents care."</p><p>"I care when I get flashed and kicked in the face!" Kaien snapped.</p><p>"Pervert!"</p><p>"It's far from my fault I caught a glimpse of your..." The younger Shiba twin took a deep breath not wanting to mention what he saw. "Look... you can't keep leaping over the wall every single time you get in trouble. And I can't believe that you're parents <em>don't</em> care when many of the times you've come over the wall involves your parents lecturing you about your actions... or your grades."</p><p>The girl placed a hand behind her head. "If I hadn't jumped over the wall I wouldn't have found a nice tutor."</p><p>Kaien let go of the girls ear. "It isn't as if your grades have actually improved."</p><p>"I'm not failing." The girl began to hurry away. Looking over her shoulder before she turned the corner she waved at him. "It's also not my fault you have a black eye! It's your choice not to wear a helmet when you ride your bike!"</p><p>Kaien folded his arms across his chest in annoyance. "I've been in more accidents with collisions with you then riding my bike! I've never had an accident on the bike!" No reply came which caused him to let out a deep sigh. "What a nuisance."</p><p>"<em>She's definitely a pain in the eye.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Not funny.</em>"</p><p>The man swung his leg over his bike and his bag over his shoulder. Taking a deep breath he turned on the bike and started out to the hospital. Something caused him to look up when he arrived at the hospital he saw the white haired Quincy looking at him through the window. He let out a sigh and turned the bike off before heading inside with his hands in his pockets.</p><p>When he opened the door to Toshiro's room he found the boy still unconscious. He felt his stomach churn and he swallowed back the bile. He slipped in and sat in the chair. His head tilted as the bag dropped to the ground. "<em>I honestly don't know what to say to him. I want him to get better.</em>"</p><p>The younger Shiba twin didn't look up when someone opened the door. "About your motorcycle? Should you not be getting a car?"</p><p>"Are you worried that I'll be giving him a ride on my bike? You don't think I would make him wear a helmet."</p><p>Ryuken cleared his throat. "You're assuming that he'll have the strength to ride the bike with you."</p><p>Kaien tilted his head towards the man, a frown creasing his lips. "I don't think you're bringing this up in regards to concerns of needed transportation."</p><p>"No. I don't like the idea of a child riding a motorbike." The white haired man folded his arms across his chest. "I'm concerned about that black eye. Did you get into a fight? With Isshin?"</p><p>"My neighbors daughter has the habit of jumping over the wall and landing various blows depending on her trajectory. Today as I was leaving to head back to the hospital she kicked me in the face as she jumped over the wall." The younger twin noted the blank look on the man's face. "I don't honestly understand her behavior either."</p><p>"Your family has a knack of attracting trouble." Ryuken's words caused Kaien to flinch. The man remained silent for a few minutes as he looked at Kaien. "Urahara says he should have the paperwork for the child finished by Monday."</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Picture Imperfection</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The conversation with his aunt made Ichigo feel better. The pain of the small taicho's death wasn't washed away, but now he felt like he was doing something constructive in memory of the young man he considered to be like a younger brother. He headed back to Toshiro's room expecting Karin to be sitting on the bed looking around the room, or moving about looking at things. Instead he heard a young female voice sounding quite upset. "Please Rangiku-san! All I'm asking for is some of his art work? Surely it isn't as big of a problem as you're making it out to be!"</p><p>"Hinamori! You told me why you wanted those pictures. I don't think..."</p><p>The orange haired teen stepped over to the doorway and peered in. A young female was speaking to Matsumoto Rangiku and her facial features were twisted up. Ichigo raised a finger and pointed at the girl. "I know you. You're that girl that Toshiro stabbed back during the Winter War."</p><p>He watched as the girl turned to look at him with a look of horror. "You... who are you."</p><p>Rangiku twisted her head around as the corners of her mouth attempted to form a smile. "Oh... Ichigo. Hinamori, this is the Substitute Shinigami... Kurosaki Ichigo. I told you that Karin is his little sister."</p><p>Ichigo's head tilted as this Hinamori person twisted her head around to look at his sister with a rather horrified look on her face. She then looked back at Ichigo with a similar look. "I take it that you don't like me? Is it because I mentioned what happened during the war?"</p><p>"I never said I hated you."</p><p>"Ichigo... this is Hinamori Momo. She is fukutaicho of the fifth division."</p><p>"Oh..." Ichigo reached up a hand to scratch the top of his head while he frowned. "Something is bothering you though."</p><p>"I won't let you replace Shiro-chan!"</p><p>The young teen took a deep breath as he looked at the girl. "You and Toshiro were close, aren't you. I kind of got that though from the way he acted that day."</p><p>Rangiku folded her arms across her chest. "They honestly weren't any where as close as they used to be."</p><p>Momo turned to look at Rangiku as her eyes began to water. Ichigo took a deep breath and folded his arms across his chest. "Come on Rangiku-san... surely you can be nice to her about that. Toshiro did in fact die."</p><p>"Please... his artwork Rangiku."</p><p>"No Hinamori!"</p><p>The orange haired teen took a deep breath. "<em>What</em> art work? If she wants a few pictures, surely it can't hurt can it?"</p><p>"She doesn't simply want a few pictures he drew. She wants all of them. She wants to put together a showing of said art work in his memory. It's too soon though. I mean..."</p><p>Ichigo looked around the room. "Rangiku-san... where is his artwork?"</p><p>The female took a look towards the bookcases. "His sketchbooks are over there. I even put the one in his desk there as I've not had the heart to look through them yet."</p><p>"All of his artwork though happens to be in sketchbooks and not any other form?"</p><p>"Yes..." The woman suddenly kept avoiding eye contact with him.</p><p>"Then you gave them to me already." Ichigo watched as Rangiku suddenly turned towards him with a horrified look.</p><p>"Ichigo... surely you don't mean to give Hinamori them? I know I said you can have the books, but..."</p><p>The orange haired teen heard the strain in her voice. "I never said I would give them to Hinamori-san. After I get his books transported to the world of the living I can look through the pictures for you and make notes of everything that is in them as I can."</p><p>"What about the art show though! I mean..." The young female looked like she was going to cry.</p><p>Karin let out a sigh from where she sat on the bed. "Ichi-nii... I know that Momo-san and Toshiro weren't blood related, but they did think of each other as siblings. I'm sure you have your reasons, so could you explain them to her. She may take things better if you do."</p><p>Ichigo's head twisted back to Momo to see that her watery eyes had become even more wet. "All right. Hinamori-san... can you tell me though why you want the art show? I may be able to better explain things to you. Also... your exact relationship with Toshiro... that might help too."</p><p>"Taicho and Hinamori were foster siblings and grew up with each other." Rangiku's words caused Ichigo's head to suddenly shoot up as the tone of voice seemed to contain some sort of anger.</p><p>"Yes... Shiro-chan and I grew up with each other. Um... well... Shiro-chan... he was really good at his art work. He always denied it though, so he never shared his work with others."</p><p>The fukutaicho of the tenth looked away. "His art work was his way of escaping without feeling like he was doing something childish."</p><p>"I honestly don't disagree with Hinamori's idea that there should be a display of his artwork." Ichigo could hear Rangiku drawing her breath. "Rangiku-san is right though in saying that it is too soon." Two brown eyes looked towards the sketchbooks he now noticed on the bookshelves. "This isn't something you can just throw together. Plus... there may be some pictures in there that Toshiro would have preferred given to people."</p><p>"Yes... but..." The young female looked at the ground as she continued to frown.</p><p>"If you rush this then people's feelings are going to get hurt."</p><p>"I should be the one that gets to go through the pictures though! I'm his sister! I'm his family!" The look Momo gave Ichigo reminded him of a puppy dog.</p><p>"Excuse me?" Rangiku's voice rose up as Karin let out a sigh. "You..."</p><p>"Rangiku-san! Now isn't the time!" Ichigo's brown eyes looked at the woman to see that her facial features were twisted up in anger. He couldn't though place where the anger was coming from. He turned back to see Momo swallow before tilting her head down as she rubbed on foot into the ground. The orange haired teen then watched as she turned on her heals and headed out the door. One of his hands reached up to rub the back of his head. "Anyone care to explain?"</p><p>"I honestly don't know. I've been picking up quite a bit of animosity between Rangiku-san and Momo-chan ever since she came in here demanding the pictures." Karin moved her feet in a steady rhythm as she looked at the ceiling. "She didn't seem to be just in morning either. There seemed to be some unresolved feelings of jealousy, spite and anger."</p><p>Rangiku took a deep breath. "That..." The woman shook her head. "Karin... how did you know that Toshiro and Momo were siblings despite not being blood related? Did he tell you?"</p><p>'Not exactly. He talked more about his granny and that wasn't much. No... I just got this feeling."</p><p>"I see..."</p><p>Ichigo went and sat down next to his sister. "Is there anything I should now? If Hinamori-san needs closure, then..."</p><p>"... she should have thought about resolving things with him before he died." Rangiku snapped. The anger quickly left her face as a hand went up to rub her shoulders. "I'm sorry. I really shouldn't be this angry at Hinamori. It's just..." The woman let out a deep breath of air. "Things haven't been going well for the two of them. They rather grew apart over the years. Mostly it was Hinamori growing apart from my taicho, but he realized after the Winter War that..."</p><p>The woman's eyes closed. "I'm sorry. Perhaps I'll tell you two some other time. Things weren't going well for the two though and taicho really tried his hardest."</p><p>Ichigo felt his facial features twist up with worry. "Was... was she part of the reason why he struggled forming relationships with other people? Was it because he struggled with the relationship between him and his sister?"</p><p>"Yeah. I honestly think she was part of his problem. Not all of it mind you, but... I'll explain more later." The woman took a deep breath. "Thank you for telling her no as well."</p><p>"Her idea about displaying his art work isn't a bad idea though. I'm not talking about anytime soon. It... I guess it would be a step in the healing process."</p><p>Rangiku looked at him for a good few minutes. "Ichigo... if I were to allow his pictures to be shown, it would have to be for the right reasons and at the right time. It... it can't be on a whim. That's honestly what is going through Hinamori's head right now. She's trying to find some quick way to get rid of the pain and pretend yet again that it doesn't exist."</p><p>"What doesn't exist?" Ichigo's eyes widened in confusion.</p><p>"Hurt feelings Ichi-nii." Karin pushed herself up from the bed. "Thank you for showing me Toshiro's room Rangiku-san. I feel I got to know him a little better, though I also got the feeling he was struggling with knowing himself."</p><p>"Actually... sharing it with you helped me Karin."</p><p>Ichigo crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Aren't I like that too? Trying to pretend that hurt feelings don't exist? I avoided the funeral didn't I?"</p><p>"Ichigo... you're problem isn't you trying to pretend that negative feelings exist. You're simply all to aware that they do exist." Rangiku smiled. "Are you going back with your sister?"</p><p>"No... as I told Ku-chan, I am going to send Karin back. I may ask Rukia to take her. I'll have a message for you to give to my teachers Karin." He watched as his sister gave him a look telling him she wasn't pleased with being turned into his errand girl. "I'll work on packing the boxes up and arranging to have them brought to the world of the living. I've also got to apologize for missing the funeral."</p><p>"Ichigo... you've already apologized to me. I think the only other person who it matters to that you need to apologize to without them telling you upset them is Ukitake. He..." The woman smiled. "Why don't you take Karin-chan to see him before you send her back to the world of the living. He... to be honest he's taking taicho's death the worst. He really cared about him."</p><p>The orange haired teen looked at his sister. "Well... that isn't a bad idea. It would be hard for you to meet him otherwise as he is usually ill. I am planning on asking Rukia to take you back anyways."</p><p>"And what does that have to do with anything?"</p><p>"Well... he's Rukia's taicho."</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Silver Threads</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Karin watched everyone and everything carefully as she tried letting the idea that Toshiro was gone sink in, but no matter what way she looked at it she honestly couldn't believe that Toshiro was dead. "<em>At least Rangiku-san feels as confused about this as I am. I guess it's easier for her to accept that he is dead as she saw him die. Would I be happy if I saw it myself, or would I still find myself not believing it.</em>"</p><p>The young female held the envelope that Rangiku had given her close as she looked around the room. Ichigo cheered up slightly at the idea of getting Toshiro's books. The girl took a deep breath as she looked books knowing full well that Ichigo would enjoy going through those books and figuring out which ones Toshiro liked the most. That was something that Ichigo could get more then her, and yet she felt like she had no connection left. Something felt like it was missing.</p><p>"You! Ichigo!" A woman with dark hair and aqua eyes appeared in the door way with a smile on her face. Something about the female felt familiar despite the fact Karin knew she had never met the woman before. The woman was also cheerful despite the fact she had come to the doorway of someone recently deceased. The woman mentioned the funeral and disappointment before taking off with her brother.</p><p>Karin opened her mouth to ask who the person was only to have it clamp shut. She looked away and instead closed her eyes as she felt for the traces of Toshiro that still lingered in the room. She felt some other feelings in the room that were familiar to her that she couldn't place. She took a few deep breaths and listened to the silence. A sharp voice of a third female broke her concentration and her violet eyes snapped open to see a girl with brown hair and brown eyes standing in the door way. "Rangiku-san?"</p><p>"Ah... Hinamori." The strawberry haired female looked at the small female. "Is there something you need?"</p><p>"I came to get his artwork. He kept them in his room, right?" This Hinamori person gave off a vibe that bothered Karin. It wasn't a feeling that she was a bad person, but something felt wrong.</p><p>"Yes... but..." Rangiku's voice quickly tightened up. "Hinamori. The answer is no."</p><p>"I want to put together a display of his artwork for everybody."</p><p>"Hinamori..."</p><p>"Please!" The awful emotions coming from the other girl increased.</p><p>Karin took a deep breath. "Excuse me, but..."</p><p>The brown haired girl finally noticed that Karin was there. "Who are you? We haven't met." She turned her head to look at the fukutaicho as she tugged on her own fukutaicho badge. "Rangiku-san... why did you let a complete stranger into Shiro-chan's room?"</p><p>"Karin's not a stranger. She's Kurosaki Ichigo's little sister. She..."</p><p>"Please Rangiku-san! All I am asking for is some of his art work! Surely it isn't as big of a problem as you're making it out to be!"</p><p>Ichigo came into the room then and listened to what the girl wanted and managed to diffuse the situation somewhat. Karin couldn't help but think that the tension wasn't completely gone. She finally placed the negative emotions she felt as jealousy, spite and anger. The sensation that the girl had a sibling like bond with Toshiro ended up confirmed as well. Rangiku seemed quite upset about the fact Momo and Toshiro grew apart.</p><p>"<em>Can you blame her? Toshiro is after all her son,"</em> the voice in the back of her head chimed in.</p><p>"<em>Yes... but is she reacting more negatively then she would normally because she's come to realize that Toshiro's her son and she's hurting from his death... his supposed death.</em>" Karin listed to a conversation go on then in front of her as if she wasn't even there. She piped up when her brother became confused. She listened to the conversation as they mentioned a man named Ukitake and the idea of her visiting the man.</p><p>She followed behind her brother and took in the old fashioned buildings as well as the fact the Shinigami were staring at her. They arrived at another division where Rukia came over. "Ichigo... are you done already? Surely not."</p><p>"No... I would like to ask if you could take my sister back so she doesn't miss school. I thought she could meet Ukitake first."</p><p>Karin let out a deep breath. "Rangiku-san said something about Ichi-nii also needing to apologize to him for missing the funeral."</p><p>Rukia took a deep breath. "Yes. You <em>should</em> apologize to my taicho for missing the funeral. I'll take you to Ugendo where he is currently resting."</p><p>The young female looked around taking everything in at that particular division. The place was the same as Toshiro's place and seemed to conform to some kind of ridge structure. She saw a beautiful pond as they headed to the place called Ugendo that made things more relaxing. Koi jumped out of the water and splashed down as a soft wind blew across the pond. A dragonfly skirted across the top only to be snatched up by one of the koi. On the pond was a small building.</p><p>The trio headed across the wooden path leading to the small building upon the water. Karin looked out at the place and tried thinking of what the place reminded her of, but the only thing that came to mind was the high end estates she sometimes saw in the historical romance dramas that Yuzu liked to watch. The door to the building was open and she saw a silver haired man sitting in the room watching the koi in the pond.</p><p>"Ukitake..." Her brother waved at the silver haired man causing the other to look up at them.</p><p>"Ichigo..." The man's mouth twisted as he tried to pretend that everything was fine. His eyes turned to look at Karin. "Who might this be?"</p><p>Karin watched as her brother tilted his head towards her, his mouth twisting up into a frown. "This is one of my sisters."</p><p>"Hi. My name is Kurosaki Karin."</p><p>The man moved his hand to one of the cushions on the floor. "It is nice to meet you Karin-chan. Why don't you and you're brother have a seat."</p><p>Rukia bowed to the man. "I'll get back to work. Let me know when you're ready for me to take your sister back."</p><p>Karin knelt down onto the cushion. Her eyes darted out to the pond as she placed her hands into her lap. "<em>I'm honestly not comfortable in this situation. I don't normally sit in this kind of position.</em>"</p><p>"<em>This though was his day to day life.</em>"</p><p>"So... Karin-chan." Ukitake's voice caused her head to turn towards the silver haired man. "What brings you to Soul Society. I know that Kyoraku had planned things so that you would be able to come to Soul Society if your brother was stuck here, but he isn't."</p><p>The young female took a deep breath. "I know Toshiro."</p><p>"Shiro-chan. You know..." The silver haired man's hands clenched the lower part of his traditional wear. "... you knew him."</p><p>Karin swallowed. "Yeah. Sort of. I didn't exactly get the chance to know him as much as I would have liked to."</p><p>"Yes. It is rather sad that the two of you didn't get to know each other better. He..." Ukitake took a deep breath. "It's rather hard to see what the two of you had in common." The man watched as Karin flinched. "I don't mean either one of you aren't a good person to be around, or that you shouldn't have been friends. I simply mean that he struggled to find things in common with people."</p><p>"That sounds like Toshiro. We played soccer, watched sunsets. Sometimes we visited this old granny in the living world that he used to check in on."</p><p>The silver haired taicho let out another sigh. "Oh dear. He of all people knew not to get involved with people in the world of the living. I'm not surprised that he was drawn to that kind of person. She'll be waiting for him to come back."</p><p>"From what I understand she was more drawn to him then anything. She saw him fighting Hollows one day and said hello." Karin's hands suddenly gripped her pants. "I actually visit her sometimes, so she won't be alone. Truth be told all her children left her prior to Toshiro coming around, so she is used to people leaving."</p><p>"Yes, but is she used to such a young child dying? I know that I'm not used to such a young one dying."</p><p>The young child looked down at the ground. She carefully turned what he had said over in her head. "If such a young one dying was such a big deal, then why was it that Toshiro ended up being a Shinigami."</p><p>Ukitake's glinted with a slight wetness as the corners of his mouth continued to try and smile. "Shiro-chan entered the academy out of necessity, not because it is actually normal. That child ended up..." The man swallowed. "I guess it's fine since he is gone. That child ended up nearly killing his granny with his reiatsu. We don't exactly have a system in place for children like him. Soul Society was also for a long time in an old era before your brother started things changing.<em>"</em></p><p>"So there could be another kid like Toshiro?" Karin could feel her throat tightening.</p><p>"I hope not." Ukitake took a deep breath. "Myself and others are discussing ideas that will successfully help out children like him when we find them. It's perhaps something that I hope we can discuss with your brother as well."</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Price of Things</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The girls were still gossiping with each other when Isshin got back to the house. Pots and pans were uncharacteristically in the kitchen with scraps from the breakfast Yuzu had prepared for her and her friends. Isshin slipped in and started up the pot of coffee. The smell of the coffee caused his mind to relax as did the sound of the coffee pouring into his cup. He took it strong in order to take his mind off of the discussion he had with Kaien. "<em>At least he is still clueless.</em>"</p><p>Isshin took a deep sigh. "<em>But for how long? That symbol didn't just jump out at him because it is Hyorinmaru's symbol. While it is true that is where we both saw it the most, that isn't the only place that we saw it.</em>"</p><p>"<em>You've had twenty years to stew over the meaning. He's had less then twenty-four hours.</em>"</p><p>The former taicho of the tenth division took in a deep drink of the coffee. "<em>Doesn't change the fact he's going to be mad if he figures out before I figure out a way to explain things to him.</em>"</p><p>"<em>As if you want to explain things to him."</em></p><p>"<em>You're saying that I don't think he can handle knowing.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Isn't that the reason you're not telling him.</em>"</p><p>Isshin took another drink of his coffee as he choose to ignore the voice in his head. He instead turned to the newspaper as his eyes sometimes darted up to look at the pots and pans Yuzu had yet to clean up. "<em>Do I really want to have a sleepover if it means Yuzu doesn't do her chores? It's almost noon now.</em>"</p><p>"<em>When does Yuzu not do her chores? This is a nice change of pace for her.</em>"</p><p>"<em>It's not that I don't think he can handle knowing.</em>" Isshin set the mug down. "<em>No... it's the same reason I never told the kids about my past. It's not something they need to worry about. Knowing him he may end up pushing the issue. Plus... if he doesn't know then if Toshiro starts asking questions he doesn't have to answer.</em>"</p><p>His eyes darted up when he heard the front door to the house open. His lips were pressed against the coffee mug as he viewed Rukia and Karen come through the door. "Hey... where's Ichigo?" The man set the coffee mug down onto the counter. "<em>Seriously... why didn't he bring his sister back?" </em></p><p>"Mr. Kurosaki... Ichigo is taking care of some things in regards to... well..." The young Shinigami frowned as she wasn't sure what else to say. Rukia's mouth twisted up as she saw the group of girls huddled around the couch playing with nail polishes.</p><p>"Rangiku-san gave Toshiro's books to Ichigo."</p><p>"His..." Isshin swore the color left his face at that moment. "<em>Toshiro wasn't one to buy himself things. That means the books are most likely the ones I and others gave him, or... my books.</em>"</p><p>"Are you all right Mr. Kurosaki?" Rukia stared at him only to let out a deep sigh. "I need to be getting back soon. I've work to do."</p><p>Yuzu blinked a couple of times. "Aren't you a high school student Rukia-nee? Haven't you done your homework already?"</p><p>"Yes... well..." The dark haired Shinigami took a deep breath as she looked at the group of girls while Karin glared at them and fidgeted in an uncomfortable manner.</p><p>Midori tilted her head as she looked at the girl. "Yuzu-chan... Karin-chan? Who is this person?"</p><p>"She..." Yuzu's eyes blinked a couple of times.</p><p>Isshin brought the coffee mug to his mouth again. "<em>She's still dealing with that brother fetish of hers isn't she?</em>"</p><p>Karin stepped into the kitchen to find something to eat and eyed the pots and pans in the kitchen. "Rukia-nee is a friend of Ichigo's from school."</p><p>"So they're not dating?" Midori looked at Rukia with the same curious look that the other girls were giving her.</p><p>"Of course not! I mean... I don't think of him that way."</p><p>The former taicho chocked on his coffee only to look away. He plastered a goofy look on his face and opened his mouth to say something only to find an elbow shoved into his ribs. He turned to look at the darker haired of his daughters as his mouth hung open. Karin shook her head and spoke in a low voice. "This isn't the time."</p><p>"But of course you think of him that way. You wouldn't be acting the way you did if you didn't." Sawako's words caused Rukia's cheeks to fluster up.</p><p>"I... I really need to be going. I only dropped Karin off because Ichigo couldn't do it himself as he's... he's really being helpful to Rangiku-san, and... well... everyone else." The female Shinigami backed up quickly.</p><p>Isshin took another drink of his coffee as the voice in his head spoke up. "<em>Are you going to tell Kaien about his protegee and nephew's relationship?"</em></p><p>"<em>Why fill him in on something he's going to miss out on. I hate how much of a mess this whole thing happens to be.</em>"</p><p>"Did you pay your respects Karin-chan?" Misami's tone of voice was different then the other three girls.</p><p>"Yes. Sort of. I saw the memorial they have for him. I saw his room too when Rangiku-san took Ichigo to look over his books."</p><p>"You got to go into Toshiro's room?" Yuzu's tone of voice rose. "What did it smell like?"</p><p>Isshin chocked on his coffee again. The man placed a hand on top of his coffee and looked to the door that Rukia had left through and caught a gimpse of the annoyed look on Karin's face. The darker haired twin crossed her arms across her chest. "Seriously..."</p><p>The door to the clinic opened and Isshin started into his work before he could hear the rest of the conversation. "<em>I really don't think I 'want' to know where that conversation was going to head.</em>" The mug of coffee set down at his desk as he went to work trying to find something to keep his mind occupied. Every so often he would rub his eyes. His zampaktuo would lecture him about not getting a good nights sleep for the past week. "<em>Can you blame me? I received news that the kiddo died.</em>"</p><p>A nudge jolted him up. The man looked up to see Karin frowning at him as she set down some food onto his desk. "Were you sleeping all afternoon dad?"</p><p>"Say what?" Isshin's head turned to the clock before looking at the lack of work he had done. "Sorry Karin. I've been ultra worried about some patients this past week."</p><p>"Why do you have this job if it's stressing you like this?"</p><p>The man took a deep sigh. "It's not usually like this." He watched as the girl stared at him. "Something the matter Karin-chan?"</p><p>"Other then the fact you haven't been acting like yourself..." The dark haired Kurosaki twin began to worry her lip. "Dad... how did you decide upon the job you did?"</p><p>Isshin tapped his pen on the desk. "It's hard to explain. Your mother's motto was that she wouldn't stand by and do nothing whenever she could do something."</p><p>"Yes, but that is mother's motto and not your own."</p><p>The man frowned as he leaned on his arm. "I guess it is a question of honor." Karin's mouth twisted up causing Isshin to stop leaning on his arm. "Did I say something wrong?"</p><p>"What is the point of doing something or even honor if it just means you end up dying."</p><p>The former taicho of the tenth division took in a deep breath of air that he breathed out his nose as he clamped his mouth shut. He let another deep breath out after a bit and another in. "Karin, does this have anything to do with the death of your friend Toshiro?"</p><p>He watched as the girl twisted her head to the side and refused to look him in the eye. "I'm not sure if it does or not." The girl's head twisted around to look her father in the eye. "Oh... Uncle Ryuken called. He said to get your lazy butt over to the hospital as he doesn't like having to take care of your patients."</p><p>Isshin took another deep breath. "His exact words?"</p><p>"What do you think? You're not exactly known for <em>not</em> annoying people. It's almost as if you enjoy doing it on purpose. Particularly with the way you're acting now."</p><p>"Were those though his exact words?"</p><p>"No." The girl crossed her arms across her chest. "He said something about coming in the morning as there is no staff to take care of a particular patient until Monday. He said something about you getting the message despite your attitude."</p><p>The man felt his eyebrows go up as his own arms crossed his chest. "So... there was nothing about me being lazy? That was just you?"</p><p>Karin turned to look at him with cold purple eyes. "Seriously... you and Yuzu are so annoying some times. Just eat your dinner. Yuzu's worried because you missed lunch. Oh... and the kitchen's been cleaned. The girls helped Yuzu clean up before they left."</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Skipping Stones</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Two eyes stared out at the pond as a quick flick of the wrist sent the flat stone to go flying across the pond causing ripples as it traveled. The youngest of the Shiba siblings crouched upon a rock near the edge as his hand deftly picked up the smooth stones in order to flick them across the pond. Ganju could hear Bonnie as she pawed the ground near him as the other boars snorted. "<em>How come that kid had to die? Seriously... that is one majorly messed up war for the kiddo to bite the bucket. Shoulda been able to do something.</em>"</p><p>"We should probably be heading back." Taichi's voice caused Ganju's head to twist back to look at his gang.</p><p>"Yeah. There's really nothing for us to do here." The youngest Shiba sibling got onto the boar and patted her side. He looked down at the boar as she snorted and scrapped her hoof at the ground. "You miss the kid to don't you."</p><p>"The memorial service was rather nice though." Kenji's voice cause Ganju's head to snap around as the smile that had temporarily appeared on his face turned back into a frown. "Sorry."</p><p>"No... it's all right." The man patted Bonnie again. "Let's go."</p><p>The boar began to trot at a steady rhythm through the lower numbered areas of the Rukongai. Taichi's voice sounded as if he needed a drink of water. "What are we going to tell Kukaku-san about where we've been."</p><p>Ganju turned his head to look at them. A smile spread across his face despite the depressed mood he was in. "I'll just tell sis that we went for a ride to cool our heads. She knows I'm still pissed off about the kiddos death. Wish Ichigo or I could have done something."</p><p>"Hey! Ganju!" Sadatomo pointed his finger in the direction that they were heading with their boars.</p><p>The youngest Shiba sibling turned his head to see that he and Bonnie were preparing to crash into a crumbling wall. The female boar skidded to a stop causing Ganju to go flying over the head of the creature. He hit the wall with a loud smack and the sound of the wall crumbling even more rang in his ears. His gang let out groans indicating sympathy for the pain he had to be feeling. He sat up and blinked a couple of times as his vision split.</p><p>He rubbed the back of his head as he looked around the small village they had come to. The place was rather run down and the villagers stared at him. A few children stood near a figure wearing a clock. He blinked a couple of times as the person continued to stare at him. The person finished tying a bandage around one of the child's wrist before walking over to the man. "Are you all right?"</p><p>Ganju blinked a couple of times as he took in what the person said. The voice was obviously female. A grin suddenly spread across his face. "Of course I'm all right! I am Shiba Ganju, the self proclaimed best boar rider in all of West Rukongai."</p><p>The woman frowned as she pulled back the hood as she leaned over to examine his injuries. The corners of her mouth twisted up in amusement. "What does that have to do with you being all right?"</p><p>The youngest Shiba blinked a couple of times as he titled his head. "I guess I should have proclaimed that I am the self proclaimed hardest headed person in all of West Rukongai."</p><p>"I wonder about that." The woman stood up and brushed her curly brown hair away from her face.</p><p>"Hey..." Ganju blinked a couple of times as he looked into her brown eyes. "<em>Why do her eyes look familiar.</em>" He hiked his thumb at his chest. "I really am fine!'</p><p>The woman pointed her finger at his forehead. "You say that, but your forehead is bleeding."</p><p>The young Shiba clan member reached up a big hand to brush away the blood she was talking about. "I guess I am. I had better be going. Sis is going to be mad if I don't get patched up."</p><p>Ganju stood up and began to brush off his pants. A sudden painful pull on his ear caused him to suddenly stop what he was doing. A gagging sound came out of his lips as he turned to look at the woman. A rather stern look was on the woman's face. "You're going to get patched up right here and right now Ganju-kun. I won't let you leave until you are patched up, do you understand."</p><p>"Hey..." The youngest Shiba clan sibling felt another yank of his ear which caused him to let out a groan. "Seriously! Why are you doing this?"</p><p>"Because I can do something about it. I would not be happy if I found out something happened to you later."</p><p>"Yes, but..." The woman yanked at Ganju's ear again.</p><p>"Seriously lady..." Mitsuru paused to swallow as he looked nervously at the woman. "We don't know ya. We don't even know your name."</p><p>The woman stood up straight and smiled at the men. "You young men can call me Nee-san. Do you understand."</p><p>Ganju felt another tug forcing him to sit down. The woman quickly patted the top of his head causing him to frown. Taichi held a hand to his mouth. "Don't do something stupid Ganju-san. Kukaku-san will be mad at you if you do."</p><p>This statement from his gang member caused a few mild curses to escape his lips as he folded his arms across his chest. The woman's hand suddenly thumped down onto the top of his sore head causing his hands to shoot up and his eyes to water slightly. "Hey!"</p><p>"No cursing."</p><p>"Seriously... I don't know ya lady." Ganju's lip twisted up into a pout.</p><p>"That may be so. That doesn't change the fact you shouldn't be cursing young man."</p><p>The young Shiba clan member let out a sigh and looked away. His foot began to tap on the ground as she began to bandage his injuries. "You've a high level of rieatsu lady. Why aren't you a student at the academy." He felt the woman stop what she was doing and turned to look her in the eye. Something about the way she looked at him told him he said nothing wrong. "What? Did I say something wrong?" Taicho cleared his throat causing Ganju's hands to go up. "Wait... I don't like Shinigami either, so don't worry about it."</p><p>"I don't dislike the Shinigami, though I really probably should." The woman went back to bandaging up his arm. "I'm surprised that you dislike Shinigami Ganju-kun. Weren't your brothers Shinigami?"</p><p>"Yeah. My brother Kaien graduated in two years. I'm honestly proud of that. It doesn't change the fact..." The young Shiba clan member frowned. Something bothered him about what she said, but he couldn't place his finger on what caught his attention. "Look. Things happened. It's not something you need to worry about."</p><p>The woman finished the last of her bandaging and pulled back. Ganju began to flex his arm as a grin spread across his face. "That feels real nice nee-san."</p><p>"Ganju... should we be calling her nee-san?" Mitsuru swallowed again. "Wouldn't Kukaku-san be mad?"</p><p>"I don't think that she would be." The woman stood up and brushed off her her clothing. She looked over at he boar that Ganju had been riding. "You should take better care of Bonnie-chan. She was after all a special gift was she not?"</p><p>"Yeah, he was a gift from my..." The youngest Shiba sibling froze and blinked his eyes. His mouth opened to say something more only to see that the woman had disappeared. "... wait a second." His dark eyes darted to the children that the woman had been tending to. "Hey... who was that lady?"</p><p>The children looked at each other. The girl pushed her foot forward as she stared at the ground. "We don't know who that lady is or where she came from. She appeared almost two years ago."</p><p>Ganju climbed onto the boar. "Does she come around her often?"</p><p>"She comes around here every one to two weeks."</p><p>The young Shiba clan member patted Bonnie and clicked his tongue. "Come on Bonnie. We best be getting home."</p><p>The gang traveled at a slower pace allowing Ganju to look back without crashing into anything. When the village was out of sight he increased the speed. He arrived at the Shiba clan home and got off. Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko greeted him by pulling on their faces.</p><p>"Ganju-san!"</p><p>"What have you done to yourself!"</p><p>"I'm fine. Really I am." Ganju's mouth twisted up into a frown as he held up his hand.</p><p>"Lady Kukaku will not think so!"</p><p>"She certainly will not!"</p><p>The two retainers began to push him forward. "Hey! I've been bandaged up! Don't make me go see sis! She'll kill me!"</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Mother Hen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A snoring sound could be heard as Kaien's head tilted backwards as he sat in the chair next to Toshiro's bed. The eyes of the younger Shiba twin snapped open as his head jerked back up. A hand reached up to grip his neck which was now sore from the position he had been sleeping in. His lips smacked as he moved his mouth to take care of the dryness of mouth that had occurred while he was asleep. He rubbed his neck and let out a hissing sound. "Seriously... how long was I asleep."</p><p>The man's aqua eyes darted to the clock, and he let out a sigh. "I don't know if it is the evening, or if it is the morning."</p><p>He let out another groan and leaned forward still rubbing his neck. A quick thought caused him to pause and look up at the young boy lying in the bed with his aqua colored eyes. His mouth opened for a bit before the corners of his mouth twisted up. "I wonder what you would want to eat if you were actually awake. If I knew what time it was I would talk to you about food plans." Kaien folded one leg across his lap. "Of course... you can't eat at this point. It would be nice though to have meals with each other as a family."</p><p>"<em>Talk to him.</em>"</p><p>"<em>About what? We don't know what Toshiro remembers from his past. I completely blocked out the fact Miyako was dead, even the fact the adoption had managed to go through. What has he blocked out to cause him to be in this state. Isshin let me remember things on my own.</em>" The man folded his arms around his chest and leaned forward. He finally sat straight up with his hands on his thighs. "I'm going to go see if there isn't a place to take a shower, or if I'll have to wait."</p><p>He stood up and rubbed his neck while his zampaktuo laughed. "<em>Are you sure your neck isn't stiff because of your young neighbor jumping over the wall?</em>"</p><p>Kaien let out a sigh as he headed to Ryuken's office. He knocked on the door and heard the command to come in. He opened the door and looked at the man. "Is there a place here I can shower?"</p><p>Ryuken waved his hand. "You saw the doors on your way down. There is a small shower for when I need it so I can be presentable for important business meetings after a long shift at the hospital."</p><p>"Do you ever go home?"</p><p>The man looked up. "I don't like being around my mother anymore then my son does."</p><p>Kaien let out a deep breath as he went back for his change of clothes. He then headed to the small shower and locked the door. He let the hot water poor over his shoulders and stiff neck before getting out. He stepped out of the room only to hear a familiar voice calling out to him. "Nii-san! Oh nii-san!"</p><p>Kaien flinched when he felt Isshin's arms wrap around his sore neck. His twin hung off him bawling his head off about how his little girls were growing up and ignoring him. The younger twin let out a sigh and tried shoving Isshin of only to find this to be a problem due to his brother's strength. "Come on... this is far from amusing."</p><p>"But Kaien!" Isshin stood up straight so that he could look his brother in the eye. The goofy smile on his face quickly left and a more serious look appeared on his face. One hand reached out to force his brother to look him straight in the eye. His tone of voice also changed. "Hey! What happened to your eye!"</p><p>Kaien glared at the older twin and pushed his arm away with a slight slap of the wrist. His mouth twisted up in irritation. "It's nothing that you need to worry about."</p><p>"Nothing I need to worry about? That is obviously a blank eye! Don't tell me you're in such a fowl mood you're purposefully getting into fights!"</p><p>The younger twin stopped short causing Isshin to crash into his back. "Isshin... you were the one always trying to purposefully get into fights. You just happened to drag me into them with you. So please... stop trying to act like you're the adult in this relationship and I'm not. I very well can take care of myself." He felt a slight twinge in his brother's rieatsu and twisted his head around to see that his brother was looking at him with a rather shocked look on his face. "Hey... don't do that."</p><p>"Why shouldn't I? You're going into one of those depressed moods of yours again. I worry about you when this happens. I mean... seriously... why do you have to be such a pessimist about everything?"</p><p>"Why do you have to be so childish!" Kaien spun around and began to pull on his brother's cheeks. "Seriously... you come in and begin bawling your head off despite the fact we both know you're not <em>that</em> upset and actually <em>enjoy </em>the fact your daughters are growing up! You then switch to freaking out because I happen to have a black eye. <em>Then</em> you <em>finally </em>get upset! Don't you get the fact I've always had to clean up after your messes growing up? Even after we were both supposed to have grown up!"</p><p>Isshin's hands reached up and grabbed his brother's wrists to force Kaien to let go of his cheeks. "Seriously! What is your problem!"</p><p>"What? You can't tell? You are after all my twin. You can pick up on the way I'm feeling just as much as I can pick up on the way you're feeling." Kaien's hands went back to pinching his brother's cheeks. He watched as his brother's hands dropped to his sides and Isshin looked at him as if he were stupid. Kaien let out a sound of frustration as he let go of his brother's cheeks. "What?"</p><p>Isshin reached up both hands to rub his cheeks. "Seriously... there is a difference between knowing how you feel, and knowing why someone feels the way they do." The younger twin continued to stare at his brother with a blank look on his face causing the older twin to let out a sigh as he walked past Kaien. A hand lightly touched his brother's shoulder. "I'm sorry things have become distant between the two of us."</p><p>The younger twin felt heat flash across his cheeks and bridge of his nose as his breath drew from the sudden emotion he felt as Isshin let go of his shoulder. He turned his head to watch Isshin begin to walk down the hall towards the two rooms Kaien had become used to over the last few days. He opened his mouth to say something only for his head to hang down and his arms to fall to his sides. He eventually let out a sigh and stuck his hands into his pocket.</p><p>This time he crashed into Isshin's back. The man turned his head to look at his brother. "You're not an idiot for thinking things should be the same way between the two of us."</p><p>Kaien's mouth twisted up into a frown. "Says the brother who has become over protective of me."</p><p>Isshin let out a sigh. "I can't help it. I was separated from you for twenty years. I couldn't feel your presence since you and Miyako died either."</p><p>"I <em>get</em> the fact you don't want to loose me again, but the fact remains that I can very well take care of myself."</p><p>The older Shiba twin's hand stopped short of opening the door to Toshiro's room. He twisted around and tugged on Kaien's sleeve and pulled him towards Ryuken's office and barged in without knocking. "Hey, can we use your office for a private chat?"</p><p>The white haired Quincy looked up as the corners of his mouth twisted down with irritation. "This office is meant to be my personal respite Isshin."</p><p>"I know! I know! I..."</p><p>Kaien let out a deep sigh and reached forward and pushed Isshin's head down. "I prologize for my brother's rudeness. Isshin, we very well can take our conversation to some restaurant."</p><p>"No. I'm used to it." Ryuken snapped his medical book shut. "I need to be making some rounds anyways." He took the cigarette he was smoking and put it out in a trey. "The two of you had better work things out. I don't want to play the role of nursemaid for the two of you. I'm already doing that for one of you."</p><p>The younger twin continued to hold his brother's head down until Ryuken left. He then stood up with a sigh of relief as he rubbed the back of his head and sat down on the bed in the room. "Isshin... you've got to stop this. You're a grown man and a father as well."</p><p>The person in question plopped into the chair. "My issue isn't that I might lose you again. My issue is that I don't want to see you hurt again." Isshin's word's caused Kaien's face to twist up in confusion. "About Miyako's death..."</p><p>"What does that have to do with anything!"</p><p>"For you it's been less then two years since she's died, and yet you're still obviously grieving for her."</p><p>"Isshin..." Kaien's throat tightened and his teeth clenched. "Get to the point already!"</p><p>"You're horrible with dealing with your feelings, all right!" Isshin's words were met with a long silence as Kaien's head fell. The older twin eventually broke the silence as he audibly swallowed as he continued to look at his brother. His tone of voice changed to one of guilt. "Name me one time growing up I put your feelings before anything else. It was always my division, Kukaku, Ganju..."</p><p>The younger twin looked up with a frown on his face. "Isshin. Seriously... what the hell are you trying to get about."</p><p>Isshin took a deep breath. "Before I met Masaki my world revolved around you."</p><p>"Isshin... you're really not making any sense." Kaien shook his head.</p><p>"Then let me finish." The older twin took a deep breath. "Until I met Masaki, my world revolved around you. Then when I met her it revolved around her." Isshin watched as Kaien lowered his head again to touch his forehead with the palm of his head. "Oh come on! I'm admitting that prior to meeting Masaki I was an immature goofball."</p><p>The young twins head went up as aqua eyes glared at the older. "Yeah... that's not actually admitting that you were immature."</p><p>"That's because you're not letting me finish." Isshin scooted the chair closer. Kaien stood up and looked at his brother as his pupils dilated and his throat tightened. The feeling of guilt Isshin was giving off had increased.</p><p>"<em>You know 'what' he wants to say. You don't want to hear it either."</em></p><p>Kaien cleared his throat. "I need to see how Toshiro is doing."</p><p>The older twins mouth twisted up. "Kaien..."</p><p>The younger twins headed to the room where the white haired child was and breathed a sigh of relief as he closed the door between him. He felt the corners of his mouth twist up as he saw the boy, and he walked over. He was a few feet away from the bed when the door opened. Two aqua eyes looked up at the man in the door way. "Not now Isshin."</p><p>"When then?"</p><p>Kaien swallowed and reached out to push a strand of hair away from the boy's forehead. His hand brushed up against the child's skin, and a jolt of pain went through his head as Isshin's voice sounded in panic.</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Being a Lady</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Two violet eyes looked out the window at the setting sun. The girl's mouth twisted up into a frown, and her eyes narrowed into a glare. A pillow was pressed between her legs and arms squished together so that she wouldn't lose her temper. Losing her temper would mean something would end up blown up, or smashed into pieces. The woman's words kept coming back to her as she bit back her anger by biting down on the pillow.</p><p>"<em>I believe this brother of yours is a figment of your imagination.</em>"</p><p>The young female finally stopped biting down on the pillow. Exhaustion from controlling her anger caused her to flop down onto the bed as her eyes stared out the window. Her purple eyes narrowed at the large window. "Rules. All she talked about during dinner was those damn rules. Seriously... how does she expect me to remember all those rules about when to eat dinner. Nobody is..."</p><p>"<em>... </em><em>you were thinking that nobody would be capable of memorizing all of those rules, but then concluded that your brother could have done it."</em></p><p>"<em>He's just a figment of my imagination just like you are.</em>"</p><p>"<em>I suggest not telling that lady about me. She'll likely treat you like you're mental.</em>"</p><p>"<em>How is that new?</em>" The girl tugged at the silky nightgown she had been given. She sighed as she felt the frill at the end and turned over to face the other direction.</p><p>"<em>She wants you to act a certain way. She wants you of all people to act like a lady.</em>"</p><p>Two purple eyes closed from exhaustion and frustration.</p><p>
  <strong>M</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>When her eyes opened again it was dark despite the full moon shining outside of her window. The only light in the room came from the place the moon light hit the floor leaving the pattern of the large window. The white sheets also lit up as did the door to her room. Her feet swung over the edge and she headed out the door to the room. "You're not supposed to be out of bed at night. There is a curfew."</em>
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  <em>Bambietta spun around to look for the woman whose voice the words belonged to, but found no one. Instead she saw a long corridor with many doors on either side. Looking in the other direction she saw the same thing. The door to her room was also gone. She took a deep breath. "Great. I'm dreaming."</em>
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  <em>She walked down the corridor until she came to a place where the door interested her. She opened it up and the door swung into the room. She saw a small room with white walls and no furniture. There was also a limited amount of light. She saw a white head of hair and the figure of a small boy despite the lack of light. "Shiro-nii? Can you play?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The boy at first didn't respond and she repeated what she wanted to say. The boy's head finally came up. His eyes were dull and colorless. "I'm being punished."</em>
</p><p>"<em>What ever for?"</em></p><p>"<em>I messed up in my lessons again."</em></p><p>"<em>I don't understand. I though what you did was amazing."</em></p><p>"<em>Uncle says everything is wrong."</em></p><p><em>The door then closed as someone pushed it shut. She saw the hand that closed the door and looked up at her uncle. She found herself turning around to look at his majesty. She opened her mouth to say what their biological connection was, but her voice couldn't say anything. The man looked her in the eyes. "What is the wish you want granted?</em>"</p><p>"<em>I want my brother. I want you to bring him back to life.</em>"</p><p>
  <strong>M</strong>
</p><p>Her body felt heavy as she snapped out of the dream. Bambietta's heart beat fast as she tried to reconcile what was her dream, and what was in fact reality. She finally pushed herself up and headed to the bathroom attached to her room. The girl splashed water into her face in order to try and calm herself down. Her eyes finally snapped shut and she headed back to the bed and sat back down hugging the pillow. Her voice was muffled by the puffy object. "Why did I ever wish for such a thing. It's not as if I really had a brother."</p><p>"<em>You did have a brother.</em>"</p><p>"That's just wishful thinking." The girl leaned back into the headboard of the bed. "<em>It's wishful thinking brought about by the fact I felt lonely. Seriously... would having a brother who could do everything and anything make me feel better."</em></p><p>"<em>Now you're thinking you would be jealous of him just to make yourself fill better. How cute.</em>"</p><p>The pillow suddenly flew across the room and hit the other wall. She remained that way until a knock came. Bambietta slipped out of the bed and opened the door. A maid stood outside of the room twisting her hands from nervousness. "Hello miss. I'm supposed to help you pick out an outfit from the closet."</p><p>The violet haired female backed away. The girl came in while Bambietta popped onto the bed. "<em>Why am I putting up with her?</em>"</p><p>"<em>You don't have anywhere else to go. You don't know what will happen if you misbehave.</em>"</p><p>Two violet eyes watched the girl pick out a pale blue dress with a green ruffle. The girl brought over the dress and set it onto the bed. "I think Mrs. Ishida will be pleased with this one."</p><p>Bambietta's mouth twisted up into a deep frown. "<em>I'm not pleased with that. That dress is not my colors. Though it would look good on...</em>"</p><p>The young Quincy's mind paused allowing the voice in her head to speak up. "<em>Your brother is a boy. I doubt he would enjoy being made to wear a dress</em>."</p><p>"<em>He's look so cute though...</em>" The girl pulled the dress over her head without removing the nightgown.</p><p>"Miss... you can't wear your nightclothes under the dress."</p><p>One violet eye peeked out at the girl. "I know that. I'm not going to change though in front of you."</p><p>The violet eye watched as the maid let out a deep breath and headed out of the room. Bambietta then pulled off the dress and changed. The voice in the back of her head spoke. "<em>Admit it. You did want to wear the nightclothes under the dress because you're lazy.</em>"</p><p>"<em>No... I wanted to wear the nightclothes underneath because the dress looked itchy. It is.</em>" Bambietta straightened out the skirt of the dress despite the fact it didn't need straightening. Her mouth curled up and a sigh came out. She headed to the door only to find that the maid was there waiting for her.</p><p>"Miss... you need to do something about your hair." The main placed her hands on the girls shoulders and led her back to the bathroom. "Miss Masaki should have had some kind of hair accessory in here."</p><p>"I never wear hair accessories in my hair. Even if I did there is nothing I can do without a hairbrush."</p><p>"There should be a hairbrush here as well."</p><p>"I'm not using a hairbrush that's old."</p><p>"I... yes." The maid stopped rummaging around and stood up. "I guess that would be true. I'll speak to Mrs. Ishida about this. She asks for you to be down in the dining room for breakfast."</p><p>Bambietta let out a sigh as she tucked her hands behind her back. "<em>I'm going to go crazy. If and en I go crazy I am going to blow this entire place up.</em>" The girl slipped into the chair at the table after the long walk down the halls. She slouched down causing the woman to clear her throat. She reluctantly sat up and glared at the woman. "<em>If I was a boy, you would be saying something different. Unless it was nii-san.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Now why would it be different for your nii-san.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Because everybody expected...</em>" Bambietta shook her head.</p><p>"Is something the matter?"</p><p>"No... I mean, I couldn't get a good nights sleep."</p><p>"That is understandable as you happen to be in a new place. If it is something else, some kind of anxiety problem... I'll have you go see my son for a prescription to handle the sleeping problem."</p><p>"<em>How convenient.</em>"</p><p>"You'll also be starting school Monday. I expect you to act like a lady and represent yourself as our ward quite well."</p><p>"<em>Great. I thought she wasn't on speaking terms with her son. I guess she has no problem using the fact he's a doctor to her advantage though.</em>"</p><p>"Stop slouching in your chair."</p><p>Bambietta sat up. "Can I ask a question?"</p><p>"You may."</p><p>"Do you know what happened to the other girls? Is there a way I could find out?"</p><p>"I told you. Those that survived are locked up in Shinigami jail cells."</p><p>The young girl's hands slammed against the table. "What don't you understand about me wanting to know which ones survived and which ones didn't!"</p><p>"I will not be spoken to in such a manner young lady."</p><p>"You know full well who I am."</p><p>"You're also in my house, so my rules. You're also my ward, so my rules."</p><p>"It's no wonder your son doesn't want to speak with you."</p><p>"You may spend the morning in your room with no breakfast."</p><p>Bambietta felt her eye twitch. "I think your son married who he did just to piss you off."</p><p>The girl turned and began to stomp her way out of the room only to have the lady call after her. "Do not walk in such a manner."</p><p>The girl straightened up her pose and clenched her hands at her sides. "<em>I want to kill her. Maybe that will please her son and he'll take me as his ward.</em>"</p><p>"<em>I think you should meet her son first.</em>"</p>
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<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Guilt Trip</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"<em>I feel guilty.</em>"</p><p>
  <em>Kaien let out a deep breath as he looked out at the blackness. "I know that you feel guilty Isshin."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The man twisted his head around to look in the direction the voice was speaking in. His aqua colored eyes didn't see his brother, but instead saw a white head of hair. The white haired child had his back to him. "I feel guilty."</em>
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  <em>The younger twin took another breath. "Toshiro... what is there for you to feel guilty about?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The former fukutaicho of the thirteenth division reached out to touch the child's shoulder. The brief touch caused a flash of light to pass Kaien's line of vision. He quickly gripped the shoulder of the child causing him to see more flashes. One of the flashes saw a blade piercing the shoulder of Madarame Ikkaku. Another flash caused him to feel like he had sent his knee flying into the stomach of Ayasegawa Yumichika. Outside of these images he couldn't make anything out.</em>
</p><p>"<em>Toshiro..." The flashes suddenly shifted and he saw flashes of what he saw the night Miyako died. The memories of attacking Ukitake Taicho and Rukia were clear in his mind. Then came the blackness again.</em></p><p>"<em>I feel guilty."</em></p><p>
  <em>Kaien turned around again and saw that the white haired child was in the same position as before. Two aqua eyes narrowed as the man looked at the boy. The corners of his mouth twisted down and he finally let out a sigh. "Toshiro... I actually know how you feel."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He watched as Toshiro's shadow spread out backwards to touch his feet and watched as the boy morphed into his brother. He still looked at the back of the man and could see a younger Isshin turned to give him one of those cocky looks saying everything would be all right. The thought that everything wasn't all right quickly crossed his mind and he let out a sigh. Looking at his feet he saw them fading into Isshin's shadow. "I didn't mind things the way they were. I didn't mind being your shadow."</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>M</strong>
</p><p>"I need to see how Toshiro is doing."</p><p>Isshin's eyes widened as his brother tried avoiding the subject. "<em>Why? This is something we need to talk about. Seriously... I was an idiot when we were younger not to notice these quirks of his.</em>" He followed after his brother and found the door to Ryuken's office almost closing almost in his face. He then headed to the place that he knew Kaien would be going. He opened the door to Toshiro's room as his frustration grew. "Look..."</p><p>The man watched as Kaien reached out to touch the boy's forehead as his brother brushed him off. He watched as his brother touched the boy's forehead only to suddenly recoil. The younger of the two twins staggered slightly backward before his body crumbled to his knees. "Kaien!"</p><p>The former head of the tenth division hurried over and grabbed his brother's arm and gave a slight tug. He began to pull his twin up so that he could support him on his shoulder. Isshin let out a groan as he had to drag his brother out of the room. Opening the doors leading out of Toshiro's room and the one that led into Ryuken's office wasn't easy either. When he finally arrived in the room he lowered Kaien onto the bed.</p><p>Isshin headed then to the small bathroom that Kaien had come out of. He wet down some of the paper towels and brought them back. He placed them on top of his twin's forehead before letting out a sigh. He sat down in Ryuken's chair and leaned back. "<em>This was exactly what I was trying to avoid.</em>"</p><p>The man leaned up against the desk as he waited for his brother to wake up. His fingers tapped the desk until he heard the door open. Ryuken's tone of voice indicated he was far from amused with the situation. "Let me guess? You decked your brother?"</p><p>"Of course not! While it is true that the male members of the Shiba clan do tend to get into brawls we are very hard headed. Plus... I've matured since then."</p><p>Ryuken glared at Isshin as he held the styrofoam cup of coffee in his hand. "Then what happened?"</p><p>Isshin looked back at his brother and took a deep breath. "He blanked out when he touched Toshiro."</p><p>"What? This isn't a negative effect caused by the fact they're both suffering from the same condition?"</p><p>The former taicho of the tenth division turned to glare at the white haired doctor. "Ryuken... this has nothing to do with that. It has to do with what Kaien and Karin have in common with each other."</p><p>One of Ryuken's white eyebrows rose up as his mouth twisted up from wondering what Isshin meant.</p><p>"I've told you that Karin has the ability to empathize with people and tell what they're feeling. I've told you that it has had negative effects on her."</p><p>"What does..." Ryuken stopped speaking and instead looked at Kaien.</p><p>"Doesn't mean I don't want to slug him though right now." Isshin folded his arms across his chest.</p><p>"Real mature Isshin." The pencil in the white haired man's head pointed at Isshin. "My question for you is if this is like Karin's problem like you say it is... how did you never notice. Wasn't her problem accompanied by headaches."</p><p>"I thought I was the cause for those headaches we had when we were younger." The words came out of Isshin's mouth with ease, but no smile was on his face.</p><p>Ryuken let out a sigh as he headed to the door. "I'm glad that you're not smiling despite the fact I know this is something you would normally find amusing."</p><p>Isshin let out a sigh of relief as the door clicked shut then waited patiently. The sound of the bed moving caused his head to turn to look at Kaien. His twin brother's left hand reached up to try and brush away the paper towel. The older twin swallowed. "Are you ready to listen to what I have to say."</p><p>The paper towel lifted up off Kaien's eyes as he brushed it away. He then turned his head to scowl at his brother. "I have the feeling I don't have a choice."</p><p>Isshin took a deep breath. "<em>I wish that he wasn't listening to me because he doesn't have the will to fight me anymore on this.</em>" A hand reached back nervously to rub his head. "As I was trying to tell you... before I met Masaki my world revolved around you."</p><p>Kaien's aqua colored eyes narrowed. "Yes. That statement bothers me." The younger twin sat up and leaned forward in an attempt to not look his brother in the eye. "I hope you realize how creepy that sounds."</p><p>"I'm not sure <em>why</em> your mind is going in that direction." Isshin took another sigh. "It honestly didn't revolve around you the same way it did her." The former taicho of the tenth division tapped his fingers on the desk. "I'm talking about the fact you were my strength back then."</p><p>Kaien's head twisted around as the corners of his mouth twisted down. "Isshin..."</p><p>The older twin held up his hand. "Can you let me finish?" He watched as his twin let out a sigh of frustration. "I took for granted the fact you were my twin. I took for granted the fact you were always there. When you were no longer there I realized how much I relied on you, but also how much I didn't let you rely on me. Our relationship was rather one-sided."</p><p>The younger twin twisted around so that his back was against the wall, and one leg crossed his lap. His hands gripped the bedding while his eyes looked at Isshin, and the corners of his mouth twisted down. After a few minutes he pushed himself up and moved towards his brother. One hand rested on Isshin's shoulder while the other rested on top of his head as Kaien touched his forehead to his brother's. "You're not running a fever."</p><p>"Of course not." Isshin watched as his brother pulled away and folded his legs up to sulk on the bed. "What ever is the matter with you?"</p><p>Kaien let out a sigh as his head titled down. "Nothing." Another silence came over the room. Isshin reached up to scratch his head. "What would be a good stimulus for Toshiro?"</p><p>The older twin blinked a couple of times before leaning back in the chair. Isshin's arms crossed his chest and one side of his mouth turned down. "A good stimulus for him. Let me think."</p><p>"<em>You're bothered by the fact he brushed you off.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Well... I thought he would be happy. I mean... he's admitted quite a few times he was always cleaning up my messes. That wasn't right of me.</em>"</p><p>"<em>No. You don't know how he really feels about that.</em>"</p><p>Isshin took a deep breath. "I wasn't exactly finished speaking you know." He watched as his brother flinched. "You passed out."</p><p>Kaien took a deep breath. "Yes... I did. It's not that big of a deal."</p><p>"<em>Don't push him.</em>"</p><p>Isshin swallowed. "Look. I'm not going to push you to talk about this subject today. As for stimulus for Toshiro... read to him. He was always filching books from one of our libraries. Or you could read something new that his age group is into."</p><p>"Yes, but what..."</p><p>A sudden buzzing caused Isshin's hand to shoot to his pocket. He pulled out his phone and held up a finger. "I need to step out for a second." He listened to the other side of the phone call and stepped back into the room. "I'm sorry. I've got some things I need to attend to."</p><p>"Don't worry. I'll figure it out on my own."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Strange Paths</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Don't worry. I'll figure it out on my own." Kaien pushed himself farther back onto the bed as he watched his brother leave the room. A pair of aqua colored eyes stared at the ceiling as he attempted to calm himself down. He stood up when he felt his mood was better, and moved to the room where Toshiro lay on the medical bed. The younger Shiba twin felt his throat tighten before going to sit in the chair next to the child's bed.</p><p>His head leaned back so his neck rested upon the back of the chair. Ryuken's voice caused him to jolt awake as one hand came up to rub his sore neck. "Don't you need to be getting up to go to work? I know that you're worried about..." The white haired man stopped then before turning his head to look at the bed's occupant. "I know you're worried about that child, but you should sleep in the office, or set some kind of alarm. I don't need to be babysitting you like I do Isshin."</p><p>Kaien continued to rub the back of his neck as he stood up. "No. The thought of being babysit like my kid brother doesn't sit well really. I'll be heading to work."</p><p>"A couple of weeks..."</p><p>"What?" The younger Shiba twin turned his head to look at the doctor hoping the man meant it would be a couple of weeks before Toshiro would wake up.</p><p>"I suggest not staying the night more then two weeks. You'll just end up placing yourself into a destructive pattern."</p><p>"I'm not sure if I should be thankful to you or not for that one." Kaien stopped short remembering the black eye. He headed to the bathroom to see the bruising. As slight as it was he still needed to stop by a convenience store on the way to work to purchase a pair of sunglasses. He arrived at work and set down his bag.</p><p>"Were you out at a bar last night?" One of the male teachers piped up with a grin on his face.</p><p>The younger Shiba twin's head darted up to stare at the man. "What do you mean?"</p><p>"You look awful. It also looks like you're hiding a black eye from a fight."</p><p>"Not a fight. My neighbor jumped the wall to my house again and slammed into me."</p><p>"It still looks like you didn't get much sleep."</p><p>Kaien took a deep breath. "A family issue I had to deal with this weekend. I did get plenty of sleep, just not in my own bed." He sat down at his desk to double check his papers. His fingers spun a pencil in his fingers. "By the way? What kind of books are kids into?"</p><p>"Books? These girls aren't really into books?" The female teacher who mentioned his ability to protect the rain let out a laugh. "They're into Twilight. You aren't..."</p><p>The Shiba clan member stood up from his desk before she could ask him if he was trying to figure out what the students were doing. "I'm going to go and patrol the halls to make sure the girls aren't up to any mischief."</p><p>"Oh yes. I'm sure they'll love you even more if you take away any more of their make up cases."</p><p>"Don't really care." Kaien tapped the back of his head with his notebook. "Also... aren't we getting ready for the school festival before the summer break?" The man let out a sigh. "They'll soon forget about it." The man stopped short as he felt a rieatsu approaching the room. His aqua colored eyes widened in confusion. "<em>Surely none of the Shinigami have found me out?</em>"</p><p>He could hear the principle chatting away with a young lady, and a male who sounded old like the fukutaicho of the first division. The principle stepped into the room with a smile on his face. "Ah! Shiba sensei! I'd like you to meet our new student."</p><p>Kaien watched as a girl stepped out from behind the man, and he found himself letting out a sigh as he realized the young female was the one letting out the rieatsu. His mouth quickly twisted up into a frown. "<em>No... not Shinigami. Quincy?</em>"</p><p>"This is Bambietta Basterbine. She is the ward of the Ishida family. She'll be in your home room." The principle continued to walk over to his own desk. "Come young lady. Let's get your paperwork filled out.</p><p>Kaien let his sunglasses slip down slightly so he could see the violet haired female. As he did he found himself quite sure the girl glared at him, and he felt a flare in her fiery rieatsu. This he brushed off as her having a fiery personality similar to how his own brother's personality matched his rieatsu. "I'm going to make some rounds before heading to class."</p><p>The Shiba clan member walked the halls listening to the chattering of the girls as the gossiped as well as how some looked at him as if they were hiding something. He eventually headed to class and watched as the girls began to gather at their desks with excited looks on their faces. Imai Minori's face was flushed. "Do you think she'll be pretty... and friendly?"</p><p>"Most of the girls at this school are rich snobs," her friend replied.</p><p>"I doubt she'll get more attention then myself or my girls." Kimura Izumi's eyes darted down to her nails as she tried putting nail polish onto her nails.</p><p>"Ms. Kimura?" Kaien watched as the girl's head darted up. "I think you know you're not allowed to use such things in class." The chair of the desk scraped as the girl stood up in annoyance as she walked up to the desk and slammed the glass jar down with a click. She then spun on her heals as she went back to her desk. "I am going..."</p><p>The girl with the violet hair appeared in the doorway to the classroom as she slammed the door open. This caused all of the girls in the class to jump. The younger Shiba twin was under the distinct impression the girl was glaring at him as if she wanted to kill him. He felt his sunglasses slip down his nose as he eyed the girl's non-lady like stance with her legs spread apart. She then proceeded to stomp her way into the room.</p><p>The man cleared his voice. "If you don't mind introducing yourself."</p><p>The girl's finger pointed at the man. "I'm going to kill you... you damn Shinigami!"</p><p>"Excuse me?" Kaien stared at the girl as his aqua colored eyes. "<em>So I wasn't imagining things. She really </em><em><span>does</span></em><em> want to kill me.</em>"</p><p>"I said..."</p><p>"I'm not sure why you are making death threats towards your homeroom teacher on your first day of class."</p><p>"You know why! You're a damn Shinigami!"</p><p>The girls in the class began to mutter about what the violet haired girl said. Some of the girls posed the idea their teacher was in some kind of gang, while others wondered if he was in the band. Kaien felt the corner of his mouth twitch. "I <em>really</em> don't know what you're talking about." He thought this would settle the problem as he watched the girl remained silent at his latest response. A few of her fingers came up then and he watched as some kind of fire orb formed at the tips of her fingers. His aqua eyes widened as he saw this. "<em>Please tell me she isn't going to use an attack in front of everybody.</em>"</p><p>Kaien suddenly reacted by bending backwards to allow the orb to go flying past him to hit the window. The window glowed, and then exploded. His head twisted around so he could glare at her while the other girls let out a shriek. He blinked a couple of times as he looked at the violet haired girl. Her breath now came in huffs, and she looked as if she had completely lost it.</p><p>He reached into his pocket and pulled out his soul candy dispenser and quickly popped the artificial soul into his mouth before swallowing. He found himself popping painfully out of the body. His zampaktuo chimed in. "<em>Isshin's going to kill you. He's going to sense your spiritual pressure, and he's going to freak out about Soul Society potentially finding you.</em>"</p><p>"<em>I'm more worried about the crap amount of pain my body is in right now from doing that, and dealing with her to make sure she no longer causes problems in </em><em><span>my</span></em><em> classroom.</em>" Kaien pointed his finger at the girls. "Take charge. Modify their memories."</p><p>The artificial soul in his body tapped his hand. "Hai! I need you girls to listen to me."</p><p>Kaien then turned to the young female, and watched as she suddenly flinched. With a quick flash step he moved past her and tugged her out of the room by the back of her uniform. He pulled in his rieatsu to the best of his ability before heading to one of the empty club rooms. With one swift movement he pushed her into the room. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"</p><p>"Isn't that obvious! You're a Shinigami! I'm going to kill you!"</p><p>"Correction. <em>Was</em> a Shinigami. I don't care about any of this business between you Quincy and the Shinigami that has gone on lately." He watched as the girl suddenly lifted her hands to create a new orb. A quick kido knocked her to the ground. He found himself flipping open his phone to call Urahara, but stopped when the door to the room slid opened. He turned his head expecting Isshin to be there, but instead he found a rather irate Ryuken.</p><p>"Care to explain why you're in your Shinigami form?"</p><p>"Care to explain why a ward of your Ishida clan is trying to kill me?"</p><p>"What ward?" Ryuken looked at the girl. His eyes narrowed at the girl. "Did my mother take you in?"</p><p>"It's none of your business! Your the father of that half-breed!"</p><p>"Be that as it may I suggest not saying anything to my mother about this."</p><p>"Why not! He's a damn Shinigami!"</p><p>"I doubt she would be pleased with the wanton destruction caused by her ward. Masaki was bad enough at rankling her, and she was blood related. I wouldn't want to guess what would happen to someone who isn't related to us by blood."</p><p>"She wouldn't because..." The girl suddenly stopped talking.</p><p>Kaien stepped over and released the bond on her. He turned to see Ryuken raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure you wish to do that?"</p><p>"I hold no malice towards her. I need to get back to my class. I should also call Urahara to make sure this mess gets cleaned up."</p><p>"No need. I'll take care of things. She'll be reintroducing herself to the class properly tomorrow as none of them and the staff remember her entering today."</p><p>"You said she wasn't to hear of this! If I have to..."</p><p>"I'll personally take care of reinstating you in school tomorrow. Today you're to skip school, and you're not to ever attack this man again."</p><p>The girl stood up and proceeded to stomp out of the room. Kaien rubbed the back of his head. "She's going to be a problem. Might be best I take up that offer of working at the other school next year."</p><p>Ryuken's sharp voice pierced the air. "I can clean up the mess here. I can not though handle the fact Isshin likely has felt your rieatsu."</p><p>The younger Shiba twin let out a curse. "I hope he has enough sense not to barge in at this point."</p><p>"I called him letting him know I would take care of the situation this time as I was in the area. He won't be bothering you about it until after he figures out I'm not going to bother telling him the details of what happened."</p><p>"That..." Kaien blinked a couple of times. "Wait? Have you been following me?"</p><p>"It's for your own good."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Vile Things</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Breakfast at the Ishida estate was eaten in silence dressed in the nasty school uniform. Bambietta didn't bother looking up at the older woman as she found the woman quite boring. Even the choice of foods reflected how boring the woman was. The woman told her she would be taken to school by one of the older Quincy. Bambietta's eating utensil clinked against the dish in disgust. "<em>Can these old geezers actually call themselves Quincy?</em>"</p><p>She followed the man out to the car and sat in the back leaning up against the glass pain. "<em>School is boring. I already know everything. That's why I always skipped class back in Vandenriech. That's what I guess though for living longer then these damn old geezers. It's completely not fair if one really thinks things through.</em>"</p><p>"You should probably hold back your rieatsu miss Basterbine. We don't need any Shinigami sensing your presence."</p><p>"What ever." The girl walked behind the man to the office where they stepped into the room. A slight fluctuation of rieatsu caught her attention and she felt a slight ping coming from another persons rieatsu. "<em>What is a Shinigami doing here? Better yet how come this old geezer didn't sense that a Shinigami is here?</em>"</p><p>"<em>I think you answered your own question.</em>" The random voice in the back of her head spoke up only to be brushed away.</p><p>Her eyes fell upon a teacher wearing sunglasses and watched as the man let the sunglasses slide down to look at her. The corners of his mouth were twisted up in curiosity. "<em>He's the one! He's the damn Shinigami! </em><em>He ignored me as if I wasn't even here! That bastard!</em>"</p><p>"<em>Control yourself!</em>"</p><p>"<em>I'm going to kill him!</em>"</p><p>"<em>I said control yourself."</em></p><p>"<em>Shinigami killed nii-chan!" </em>Bambietta's teeth ground together as her hands clenched into fists. She vaguely heard the instructions to wait outside of the classroom until her homeroom teacher introduced her to the classroom. "<em>I really hate school!</em>" Before the man could say he was going to introduce a new student she barged in. "<em>Ha! Serves him right!</em>"</p><p>The young female stood in a pose she thought gave off the impression of super villian. She then proceeded to stomp into the room as she gave an evil smirk. She didn't pay any attention to the fact she was upsetting her classmates. The man on the other hand remained calm. "If you don't mind introducing yourself."</p><p>"I'm going to kill you, you damn Shinigami!" Bambietta pointed a finger at the man. The young Quincy was surprised to see the man remained calm as she continued to rant. She finally flicked her finger in an attempt to blow up the Shinigami. To her surprise the Shinigami manged to doge the attack launched at him, and instead the window exploded.</p><p>The way he reacted next completely took her by surprise as he shoved her from the room. He attempted to speak with her which caused the young Quincy's anger to boil even more. She didn't like the fact he placed a kido spell on her preventing her from moving. What surprised when another Quincy showed up and ordered her to skip school and not ever attack the Shinigami again. The young female hurried off.</p><p>Bambietta found herself sitting in a park nearby with her arms folded as she reached a hand up to flick one of her rieatsu bombs at one of the trashcans. The young Quincy stopped short upon realizing this may not actually be a good idea, and her lips curled up in frustration. "Seriously... do I need to really follow the rules they put down?"</p><p>"<em>You don't know what the status of the other Quincy are. Stop and think carefully and you'll realize these are the only ones which can help you. The rest are in jail or dead.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Cowards. They ran away from the fight. What is the point of fighting unless one wins and lives?</em>" The girl felt her hands grip tightly around her arms a particular person popped into her head. "<em>As I've told myself many times. Nii-chan is just a figment of my imagination. I can't blame his death on anybody.</em>"</p><p>"<em>You were quick to blame it on the Shinigami</em>."</p><p>The girl stood up and began to walk. "<em>This town is completely boring. Going to school? You've got to be kidding me. A stuck up all girls school that lets Shinigami teach there. </em><em>I should...</em>" Bambietta's thoughts stopped at the idea of telling the old lady who'd taken on the role of her legal guardian about the Shinigami at the school, but her dislike of the woman rankled her as much as running into the Shinigami. The other Quincy also indicated she wasn't to say anyting, and that he would have a word about the destruction she caused at the school. "<em>Not fair!</em>"</p><p>She continued on her way wondering what she should down with her free time, and the first thing which came to mind was blowing something up. The voice in the back of her mind nagged at her. "<em>You know you shouldn't bring unneeded attention to yourself.</em>"</p><p>"<em>If I was still a part of the Sternritter I wouldn't be having to hold back." The small female clenched her hands at her side.</em></p><p>"<em>You know the only reason you were never punished with death for the things you did was because of who you were within the Quincy ranks.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Are you telling me I wasn't needed?</em>" Bambietta responded quickly to the voice at the back of her mind, and then found herself regretting the decision. Even before the voice started speaking she knew that her thoughts could be taken as her believing the voice was real.</p><p>"<em>If you're asking me a question about yourself then you know I'm real.</em>"</p><p>"<em>No...</em>" Bambietta tried thinking of an explanation. "<em>I was asking the question of myself and not some imaginary voice in the back of my head. Seriously...</em>"</p><p>"<em>Seriously...</em>" The voice began to mock her by imitating her voice only to make it off just enough that anybody could tell the difference. "<em>... of course you were needed. The fact someone was needed didn't stop them in the past. If they weren't needed anymore, they were killed. If they became a problem, they were killed. Plus, look at the way you ended up.</em>"</p><p>"<em>He would never have approved what Gigi did. He..." </em>Bambietta stopped in her tracks as her hands clenched into tighter fists. "<em>Something changed. Something went really wrong.</em>" The small female stepped aside so she could lean up against the wall, and let people pass her by. Her violet eyes fell to the ground, and her mouth twisted down. "<em>What am I missing?</em>"</p><p>"<em>Your brother.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Stop it.</em>" The words came out of Bambietta's mouth, and the young Quincy quickly snapped her mouth shut. She felt her lips push together. "<em>I never had a brother. I never had... why am I even thinking about him all this time?</em>"</p><p>"<em>Because your wish, the wish you wanted granted most of all, it was to see him again.</em>"</p><p>Bambitta's head shot up, and she let out a sound of annoyance. "<em>Why would I wish for something impossible like that? All I wished for was plenty of things to blow up, and I got my wish.</em>" The denial didn't change the awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. "<em>I got my wish, so...</em>"</p><p>The small female shook her head, and continued down the street until she came to an ice-cream shop. Her violet eyes brightened up, and she stepped into the place. She soon ordered a treat with her pocket change, and sat down at a table by the window. Her spoon dipped into the green treat, and moved the ice-cream to her mouth. She savored the taste of the mint-chocolate chip. "<em>This is his favorite.</em>" For a brief second she mentally flinched, and then shrugged her shoulders. "<em>There is nothing wrong with pretending I have a brother. Shows how bored I am.</em>"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Changing World</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I called him letting him know I would take care of the situation this time as I was in the area. He won't be bothering you about it until after he figures out I'm not going to bother telling him the details of what happened."</p><p>Ryukin brushed by the younger of the Shiba twins without saying anything else, but the words he said were enough to make Kaien's stomach lurch. He shoved his phone into his pocket, and headed back to the classroom to take his position back from the soul candy. A few of the girls were sweeping up what little glass ended up on the inside while a few others were in the corner speaking with each other.</p><p>Two aqua colored eyes stared out at the girls wondering right then what kind of excuse he would need to come up with to explain the situation despite the fact a memory modifier was used. One of the girls came up to him with a frown on her face. "I can't find the baseball."</p><p>Kaien's eyes blinked a couple of times. "The ball went out the window, not in."</p><p>"But why would anyone want to throw a baseball through the window."</p><p>"How should I know what was going through that persons mind?" The younger of the Shiba twins wondered how he would explain this mess to the staff later on. "<em>It's not that what I've said is a lie. I really don't know what's going through that Quincy girl's mind. Unfortunately we've removed her from the equation and the culprit is now a complete stranger.</em>"</p><p>"Are you going to go out with Ms. Sato?"</p><p>"What?" The man startled as he looked down at the young female student.</p><p>"Didn't you notice when she was here. She likes you."</p><p>Kaien took a deep breath. "Why don't we get back to class?"</p><p>"Aren't you switching classes soon sensei?"</p><p>The man stared at his students for a few minutes before going to his attendance book. "Apparently a few people slipped out before could take attendance."</p><p>"Don't forget Imai Sayuri went to the nurses office."</p><p>Kaien stared at Ishikawa Michiko a few minutes before shaking his head. Imai Sayuri's friend seemed to be glaring at him as if he'd done something wrong. "<em>At least I still know Kimura Michiyo and her friends sneaking off like the did won't slip under the radar.</em>"</p><p>"<em>I believe you're trying to ignore the fact young Ms. Imai has a crush on you.</em>"</p><p>"<em>I know she has a crush. I made it clear to Ishikawa-san that I can not reciprocate her friends feelings.</em>"</p><p>"<em>I think this has to do with the fact she thinks you are in some kind of relationship with Sato sensei.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Yes...</em>" Kaien took a deep breath. "By the way. It's not Ms. Sato, but Sato sensei. Please show her the respect she deserves." A shiver ran down his spine as he took in the looks on the girl's faces. "<em>They're thinking something strange aren't they?</em>"</p><p>"<em>They're thinking there's something going on between you and Sato sensei.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Seriously... I don't get it.</em>"</p><p>"<em>The same things happened </em><em>the times</em><em> you taught at the academy.</em>"</p><p>"<em>I didn't get it then either.</em>" With the attendance finished Kaien headed to his next class, and things remained uneventful for the rest of the school day. He noticed the female teacher his students mentioned coming to the classroom earlier. His mouth pushed together. "Can I ask something?"</p><p>The female teacher looked up. "If you need someone to feel out the reports for today, you don't need to ask."</p><p>"No." Kaien kept a straight look on his face. "For some reason a few of my students think there is something going on between us. I honestly can't figure out why."</p><p>A laugh escaped from Sato sensei's mouth, and for a minute he thought she would confirm the girls suspicions from her side of things. "This is just the normal, fanciful imaginations of middle schools going wild dreaming up rather innocent dreams."</p><p>"I wouldn't call their dreams innocent." Kaien reached out for the papers he needed to fill out as he tried brushing away the antics of his students to the back of his mind.</p><p>"When I said you didn't need to ask for the papers to be filled out I meant it." The comment from the female teacher caused Kaien's head to jerk up. The look he gave Sato sensei caused her to give him a rather amused look. "For some reason it's already filled out."</p><p>The dumbfounded look on his face took time to leave. "You did that on purpose didn't you?"</p><p>"You're a lot of fun to tease. You really need to learn to relax."</p><p>His hands reached out to stack his papers together before placing them into his bag. "Since I've nothing else to do I'll be leaving."</p><p>"What's the hurry Shiba? Why don't you come and have a drink with us?" Another teacher spoke up in a rather candid manner. "We'll be finish soon ourselves."</p><p>"Sorry, but there is actually somewhere I need to be." Kaien adjusted his satchel so it wouldn't slide as he rode his motorcycle. He noticed the strange looks the other teachers gave him, but shook his head indicating he didn't wish to say anything. He arrived at the hospital and went straight to Toshiro's room.</p><p>He would have sat down in the chair and leaned back so his head tilted over the back, and eventually he would move his arm so his aqua colored eyes, and the corners of his mouth turned down in frustration.</p><p>Toshiro though was not in his room, and a deep sinking feeling came over the man as he stared at the empty bed. Kaien's limbs felt as if he were swimming through a deep water with no chance of surfacing for air in sight. He swallowed deep as he continued to stare. "<em>Wouldn't they have told me had something happened to Toshiro? Or is this another way they're baby sitting me.</em>"</p><p>The younger of the Shiba twins sat down in the chair and stared at the bed, and didn't hear the clicking of the door when someone came in. Ryuken's voice drew the man back to reality. "What are you doing here?"</p><p>Kaien turned his head to look at the man. "Where's Toshiro?"</p><p>"I thought I mentioned something about moving him once Urahara managed to get the papers for you. He's likely spent time doing that memory modification of his." Ryuken leaned up against the door and remained silent as the younger of the Shiba twins stared at him. "If I forgot to tell you I apologize. Even if I did I should have mentioned the move more then what ever amount I did."</p><p>A sigh escaped Kaien's lips. "You have your duties in this hospital. I can't expect any kind of favoritism."</p><p>"No, but in some ways you'll get it. I've got to hide certain aspects from those in the world of the living." Ryuken motioned for Kaien to follow him. "I wonder how you're going to explain to the kid how his name's been changed."</p><p>"What?" Kaien blinked a couple of times and shook his head.</p><p>"Shiba Toshiro, not Hitsugaya Toshiro."</p><p>Another deep sigh escaped the dark haired man's lips. "I'll think of that when I come to it. Not sure what I'm going to do about that girl though."</p><p>"I don't know either. I'm hoping she'll behave tomorrow. I'd rather not speak to my mother."</p><p>"<em>Why</em>?" Kaien wanted to ask, but he shook his head instead. Ryuken led Kaien through the hospital to the child's ward. The dark haired man flinched at the cartoons painted on the wall, and the bright colors. "<em>What would Toshiro think of all this? That child's used to the forth division, and it was always a struggle to get him to do anything outside of his comfort zone.</em>"</p><p>They arrived at the room and for a moment Kaien stood their staring. For some reason Toshiro looked smaller then before despite the fact Kaien's mind kept telling him the boy had grown since he died. Finally he sat down and reached a hand out to brush the boy's white hair before letting out a deep sigh. Ryuken folded his arms. "You look tired. You need to get sleep, at least for his sake."</p><p>"I slept well enough. Didn't help..." Yet another deep breath came from the man's mouth. "Teacher visits are coming up. That could pose a problem."</p><p>Ryuken raised an eyebrow before turning to look at the young child in the bed. "I'll think of something."</p>
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<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Trepidation</h2></a>
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    <p>"Don't worry. I'll figure it out on my own."</p><p>Isshin found himself staring at his twin brother, his mouth open as he found himself unable to say anything. As such, he found himself stepping out the room and closing the door behind him. His eyes looked towards the ground, his frustration hitting deep. "Older brothers are born first to protect their younger siblings." Isshin took a deep breath. "I'm such an ass."</p><p>"You're going home?"</p><p>"We're currently at a standstill." Isshin continued looking at the ground. "Plus, from the sounds of Rukia's voice I've got an emergency at home to deal with."</p><p>"I see."</p><p>Isshin left the hospital, looking up at the night sky as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets. "<em>Things aren't going well, are they Engetsu? I tried telling Kaien I'd put him and his emotional needs first for once, and here I am not doing that. I'm not doing that despite what just happened.</em>"</p><p>His zampakuto didn't respond and instead Isshin started walking home. Upon arriving, he found himself suddenly not in the mood for dealing with Yuzu's normal emotional distress or her bubbly personality. Isshin still opened the door, expecting one of these two emotion states from the younger of his two twin daughters.</p><p>"Daddy! Karin won't eat the dinner I made to cheer her up."</p><p>The man stared, dumbstruck. "<em>I came home for this? For Yuzu to complain about her siblings not wanting to eat dinner? I'm not even hungry, what with everything that's going on.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Funny. You lectured Kaien about not eating when he gets into one of his dark funks.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Engetsu, you know I'll at least eat something.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Yuzu is just worried like…</em>"</p><p>"Sorry Mr. Kurosaki." Rukia's voice made Isshin look up. "You look rather tired, so I do apologize for bothering you, but Karin's super upset. One moment she was fine, and then she just froze. She refused to talk to me about it. In fact, I think I may have made things worse. She kept looking at me as if she'd seen a ghost. I asked her if she wanted me to call Ichigo, but…"</p><p>"She said not to daddy."</p><p>"I'll see what I can do." Isshin stopped heading up the stairs. "Wait? When did this happen?"</p><p>"Not long before I called you."</p><p>"<em>That can't be a coincidence.</em>"</p><p>"<em>Don't use this incident to pry into what's going on with your brother. Kaien won't appreciate the action.</em>"</p><p>Isshin took a deep breath before entering Karin and Yuzu's room. He saw her sitting on her bed, her legs pulled up to her chest. Stepping closer, he heard soft sobs coming from her as her body shook. "Karin?"</p><p>"Go away."</p><p>He let a humming sound slip from his mouth before speaking. "Daddy's not going to go away Karin." Isshin slipped over and sat down on the bed, gently pulling her into his arms. "Even if you don't want to talk about it, daddy's here for you." The sobs from Karin deepened as she buried her head in his arms. He said nothing, instead looking at the closet. "<em>I'm able to be here for my daughter when she needs me, but when my twin brother needs me I'm not able to do anything?</em>"</p><p>His calloused fingers rubbed Karin's back as her sobs started to calm. Eventually they stopped, and she tugged at his sleeve. "Hey, dad?"</p><p>Isshin started, drawn from his thought. "Karin?"</p><p>Her arms wrapped around his waist and she rested her head on his chest, startling him. "I don't know what's bothering you dad, but if you need a hug just ask. Don't act like an embarrassing goofball."</p><p>For a few minutes his arms hovered behind Karin's back, but then his calloused hand reached up and ruffled her hair. In the back of his mind, he remembered Kaien doing the exact same thing, except in a manlier manner by hugging him from behind. Normally Isshin would find himself laughing at such thoughts, and yet he found himself missing such interactions – in fact, he'd missed that interaction for a good chunk of time.</p><p>He ruffled Karin's hair again with his calloused fingers when she let go of his waist and stood up. He nearly bumped into Ichigo and Rukia as they carried a couple of boxes to his room. Isshin somehow managed to put a smile on his face. Rukia smiled back. "Mr. Kurosaki! I hope you don't mind, but it is a bit late so Yuzu-chan invited me to stay the night. If it's okay, I'll help her bring up the bed since we don't want to bother Karin-chan."</p><p>"You're always more than welcome here, Rukia-chan." Isshin beamed at the girl. He watched her carry the box into Ichigo's room, before heading to his own, feeling completely exhausted. He sat down, his mind-muddling over what happened to Kaien and how he'd passed out.</p><p>"<em>It was never that bad.</em>" Isshin's fingers tightened around his pant legs. "<em>Or is it I never knew it got this bad?</em>" A knock at his door made his head dart up and saw the clock indicated he'd been in there for some time. "Come in."</p><p>Ichigo peeked in. "Hi. Can we talk for a bit?"</p><p>Isshin waved his son over, the goofy look on his face. "So, you've finally decided to open up to your old man?"</p><p>His son closed the door behind him, allowing Isshin to see a book under his arm. Ichigo glanced away. "Stop the act already dad. I know you can be serious when you want to be."</p><p>A deep sigh left Isshin's lungs. "Okay, okay. No goofy idiot. Smart dad only." Ichigo frowned, yet it also seemed as if he protected the book under his arm. The book looked like… Isshin felt the color leave his face. "Wait. Is that one of Toshiro's sketchbooks? Why do you have that?"</p><p>Ichigo looked at the ground. "Sorry. I…" The orange haired teen took a deep breath. "Rangiku gave me Toshiro's books. I didn't want to say no to her, particularly since she wanted them to go to someone who would take care of them but also read them. However, the sketchbooks are part of it in part because Hinamori-san tried getting them from Rangiku-san. She seemed quite adamant about her not getting them."</p><p>"Momo-chan huh?" Isshin took a deep breath looking at the ceiling. "We lost that wonderful child genius, yet that girl's still alive? It seems quite unfair."</p><p>"Isn't it a bit unfair to talk about Hinamori like that?"</p><p>"I guess." He tried putting on a smile. "She's not a bad person, really. I never really had positive experiences with her. In part, it had to deal with how she treated Shiro-chan. She always treated him like a child and never showed him the respect he deserved." Isshin took a deep breath, looking at the foot of his bed instead of looking his son in the eye. "I think what really upsets me is that things never got to work out between the two."</p><p>"Rangiku said something about how Hinamori should have tried resolving things while Toshiro was alive."</p><p>"Yeah, that."</p><p>"Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?"</p><p>"I…" Ichigo took a deep breath. "I'm honestly not handling this well. I don't see how what I've done is different than what Momo's doing."</p><p>"What do you mean?"</p><p>"I didn't show up to the memorial. I couldn't step into the division meeting hall where they have…" Ichigo swallowed, looking Isshin in the eye. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't say anything. That's unfair to you, when you can't even go there. I was so stupid for not going in, but I saw all of those flowers and toys people brought."</p><p>"Don't say that. I remember how you were when Masaki died, so I know how hard this is on you." Isshin watched his son carefully as Ichigo held onto the sketchbook tighter. "I don't know how I'd have handled the situation."</p><p>"You would have dealt with it quite well. I mean, look at how you dealt with mom's death."</p><p>"Ichigo…" Isshin took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "The fact I put on a brave face doesn't mean I wasn't hurting. I knew though if I completely fell apart you kids would suffer. I had people depending on me."</p><p>"So, do I. I mean…" Ichigo took a deep breath, glancing down at the sketchbook. "Look, I didn't come in to talk about that. The sketchbooks. I promised I'd look through them for Rangiku and make notes as I could. I may have bitten off a bit more than I…" His son closed his eyes. "Could I possibly start actually helping out at the clinic?"</p><p>Isshin's eyes snapped open. "You know why I don't let you help."</p><p>"Because Shiba clan members like explosions."</p><p>"That…" A smirk spread across his face.</p><p>"I promise to take it seriously, particularly since." Ichigo took a deep breath. "I need to decide whether I am going to pursue a medical degree or not, or even learn that healing kido stuff Rukia does."</p><p>"Where is this coming from?"</p><p>Ichigo took a deep breath. "Could we possibly talk about that later? I came to show you something I found when looking through the sketchbooks. Actually, if you're not ready to look at it, that's okay, but I wanted you to know about it."</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"The picture Toshiro drew of you and Uncle Kaien."</p><p>"Wh…" Isshin took a deep breath. "How'd you find out? I only told you that you were part of the Shiba-clan, not that you were related to."</p><p>"Ku-chan told me."</p><p>"Ku-chan?"</p><p>"I felt calling her Aunt Kukaku was like saying she was old."</p><p>Isshin found himself laughing, his voice echoing through the room and startling Ichigo. He waved his hand. "No. It's nothing bad. Just that Kaien used to call her Ku-chan."</p><p>"Ah."</p><p>"I would like to see the picture."</p><p>Ichigo smiled, before walking over and opening the book up. He set the book into Isshin's lap and he found himself looking at the picture Toshiro drew. His son's voice drew him back into reality. "Dad, you okay?"</p><p>"Am I okay?" Isshin took a deep breath. "Just thinking about the past."</p><p>"How did you feel. When Uncle Kaien died?"</p><p>"Empty. Like I'd lost something important. Kind of like how I felt when your mother died, and yet not quite the same." Isshin handed the book back. "<em>It still feels like I've not gotten him back, yet I can't tell Ichigo that. At least not yet.</em>"</p>
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<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Continuing Enigma</h2></a>
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    <p>The world was an enigma.</p><p>More specifically, the world was an enigma that his mind didn’t quite understand, given the fact his mind remained in a fog, and all <em>things</em> imaginable simply didn’t fall into place as he wanted. Though, there was one thing he did know without a doubt.</p><p>He didn’t want to die.</p><p>Dying brought on strong negative feelings he didn’t have words for, almost as if something or someone robbed him of the ability to put words to everything. That was how much his mind remained in a fog, waiting for someone, anyone, to rescue him from that fog, along with that <em>thing</em> he didn’t want to think about. Every time his mind started heading in that direction, the direction of that <em>thing</em> he didn’t want to think about, the negative feelings increased.</p><p>More importantly, he wanted to scream even though he didn’t have any words to scream, yet screaming remained a physical impossibility, no matter how instinctive the scream ended up being.</p><p>Even more important was the fact he didn’t want to die.</p><p>The first sensation coursing through his body was what his mind figured out to be wetness despite not having the word for wetness in his mind; he did know that he didn’t like the sensation let alone the sensation of feeling cold, with nothing protecting his body from said wetness and said coldness. Instinctively his body reacted, curling up in an attempt to protect himself, but it didn’t work</p><p>Soon after he heard someone despite not quite understanding what was being said. No, he did understand some of the word’s but his mind struggled with processing the language, the mental fog weighing in. That, someone, sounded familiar though, but the sound also brought on a positive feeling which brought on relief. Something wrapped around him, almost as if preventing him from getting even wetter.</p><p>That was all his mind registered, that and the fact he didn’t want to die.</p><p>Also, he wanted to respond to what was going on, to scream, to anything, yet he couldn’t even open his eyes, almost as if a major weight was over his body.</p><p>Then came another voice and the wetness being taken away and so many other things, his mind struggled in taking everything in. His mind registered words, but the warmth felt like a safe cocoon that lulled him into blackness, safe and sound blackness that didn’t involve dying. Yet, the two someone’s he recognized the voice of not to mention a few words started coming back to him, their words broke through.</p><p>There was something about making sure he wanted to live rather than dying, something he knew he didn’t want, yet he also didn’t know how to grasp onto that idea of living rather than dying. Instead, his mind remained stuck on not dying, but that one voice kept speaking, not always, almost as if trying to draw him out of the darkness.</p><p>And then, it happened.</p><p>There weren’t any words even if he had a full capacity of words to describe how it happened. To say it just did almost felt right, yet didn’t, but his eyes opened up and he found himself escaping from the darkness only to be accosted by the darkness. He took a deep breath, enjoying it although it felt difficult.</p><p>“Toshiro?”</p><p>There was that familiar voice, attempting to help him cling onto the concept of living rather than dying while his fingers twitched. That was in fact the most he could achieve as chaos swarmed around him and he fell back into the darkness, though the darkness didn’t feel as dark. He did feel as if something were missing, something he couldn’t put a finger on and when he came out again he saw someone watching him carefully, looking at him hopefully.</p><p>“Toshiro, it’s good to see you awake.”</p><p>Except, he didn’t recognize practically anything beyond the fact he knew the person watching over him and that he felt safe around that person. The said person stood, up, touching his face lightly while his mind attempted processing everything.</p><p>“How do you feel, kiddo?”</p><p>His mouth opened, attempting to answer the question yet no words came out. He also found himself unable to move as he wanted, let remember anything important, as if he were a stranger in his own body. His eyes opened and closed.</p><p>“Hold on, let me get the doctor in here.”</p><p>Others came into the room and they talked about things which honestly went over him, but from what they said he guessed his name was Toshiro, but they were also concerned about certain things, being unsure of how he was affected by anything. Eventually, he found himself alone with the person and they sat down.</p><p>“So, everything is going to be okay.”</p><p>“<em>Okay.</em>”</p><p>“Ryuken is signing you up for physical therapy and also speech therapy. This way you’ll get your verbal and physical function back. I had to go through…” The person paused, as if unsure of what to say to Toshiro. “You don’t seem surprised to see me.”</p><p>“<em>Why?</em>”</p><p>“Nothing. Don’t worry about it Toshiro. Let me worry about everything that’s going on and getting you better. You’re a very intelligent kid, but also a fighter, so you’re going to be okay. Plus, you’ve gotten over I think the hardest hurdle, coming out of your comma and waking up. I was so worried you wouldn’t wake up.”</p><p>“<em>Okay.</em>”</p><p>“Anyways, Isshin will visit later, once he gets away from his kids. In the meantime, I’ll read it to you. Not those Twilight books. Yeah, I’d rather forget those. Let’s stick with some of the classics I know you’re familiar with.”</p><p>“<em>Okay.”</em></p><p>The man reached for the side of the bed and grabbed a book, his voice reading out the words from the book. He understood the contents read to him, although he didn’t have any tangible memories. More importantly, for some reason, his mind also didn’t have any tangible worries. Most important, he felt safe and no negative feelings such as fearing death – for that was the negative feeling he couldn’t place his finger on – plagued his mind.</p>
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